Under Obsidian Heavens
by Simplicity512
Summary: While Harry racing to find Horcruxes, Severus is unaware that Mary and the children were scattered all over Britain. That is, until a boy appears in his fireplace. Sequel to Within Blind Eyes. Rating: T but nothing dirty.
1. Prologue

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Insert Disclaimer here)**

**I guess we all take a breath and plunge into a new adventure…**

**Ok, just so this is out of the way, this story takes place five-six years after the first story -_ Within Blind Eyes_. (Basically the time that Harry and the gang go on the hunt for Horcruxes) **

**So without further ado… the:**

Prologue:

The night had fallen quickly after the summer storm had passed. On the dark horizon, the lightning still burst angrily at the ground. The straggling clouds were carried by a strong wind that made the wheat and cornfields bend double. Four shadows watched as the house in front of them winked out the candles and the occupants slip into their beds. They waited for another hour until one finally got impatient.

"This is taking too long!" He growled. He was shut up with a hand throwing him against the tree across the rode from the house.

"You _will_ be patient, you blabbering fool." A voice hissed in his ear. "_He_ will kill you is we fail him. Now shut up!"

"But how much longer? They must be asleep by now!" He snarled back.

The other two pulled back their hoods. Both were pale skinned and covered with prison tattoos. The two bickering stopped and looked at them then followed their gazes to where a curtain moved.

"Sev!" Gabby hissed. "The curtain!"

Mary froze then looked at Bryanna. But Bryanna wasn't anywhere. She was a cat and was now pouncing up onto the windowsill. Mary snuck back and pulled Severus away from the wall. She then gently pushed him and his two sisters into the sitting room. Then she looked back at Bryanna who seemed very nervous. She was too still and certainly looking at something. Mary forced her heart back into her chest and took a small jar from her robe's pocket.

"Mom, what's that?" Symphony asked.

"Hush. Take some, be sure not to spill." She offered the blue powder to her children. "Bryanna! Come on!"

The cat watched them a moment then leapt down from the sill, obviously distracted by something like a mouse. The four shadows smiled and began to pull out their wands as they crept their way towards the house's front gate.

"Sorry, Mary. But they got to go _now_. There are four Death Eaters waiting for us. They were crossing the road when I jumped back down." Bryanna pulled her wand out as a small dog and three other cats leapt down from the sitting room couch. They transformed into Garrisons. Mary tried to say something but Bryanna cut her off. "We will be fine. Now get!"

Mary felt her throat catch but turned to her children. "We are going to step into the fireplace and we are going to say-"

A loud boom shattered the front door. Spells began to ripple across the room as four Death Eaters inched their way in. Bryanna and the four other Garrisons fought back with vigor.

Symphony grabbed Gabby's hand and yelled out, "Mom's home!" And was gone with a blue burst of flame.

Mary shot a spell at one of the Death Eaters who fell to the floor in surprise. She grabbed Severus's shoulders and shoved him into the fireplace. She was about to tell him where to go but he had a completely different plan.

"Dad!" He yelled out. Blue flame sent him away. Mary felt panic rise in her throat and she shot another Death Eater before looking for Bryanna. She was on the floor, very still, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. She let out a small sob before sending a binding hex at an approaching Death Eater. Then an unspeakable pain sent her curling to the ground. Fighting it, she struggled to stand and take the jar with its last ounce of powder. She looked up at the Death Eaters and the Garrisons locked in battle before throwing the contents down into the ash beneath her. Someone knocked into her and yelled out,

"Headquarters!" Then all went blue and faded into black.

**Sorry, very short… too short. I solemnly swear to write a longer chapter next. **


	2. Chapter 1

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Insert Disclaimer here)**

**Um… nothing to say. **

Chapter One:

Two thousand miles away, Severus looked grimly up at the Malfoy Manor. It looked almost abused. The paint was cracking and Death Eaters heavily guarded it like a fortress. Some were on the roof, gazing down at him. One stood next to the door and another beside him. Yaxley followed him as quickly as he could.

The one by the door sneered as he stepped into the light of the lamp he held.

"Any news?"

Severus did not hesitate as he opened the door. "The best kind of all." He muttered as he and Yaxley disappeared into the house.

What seemed like hours later, Severus stepped into Dumbledore's old office. He had escaped the Crucio curse again but he grimaced on how long he can keep avoiding it. One of the paintings cleared its throat. He looked up and saw the blue-eyed wizard with that annoying twinkle in his eye looking down at him.

"How is Mary?"

"Well." Severus replied wearily. His attention was drawn to the large eagle owl on his desk. By it, a small box, about the size of an envelope and the height of three fingers one on top of the others, sat awaiting him. He walked up to the bird and gave it a treat. It flitted away from his desk and out the window into the early morning darkness. Sitting down, he noticed three small, red balloons on the top of the box. He then remembered that that morning was the triplets' birthday. He opened the box carefully. Inside he found a letter from Mary and three other letters written by children.

He read the letter from his wife first.

_Dear Severus, _

_It grieves me that I could not be there with you. I would give almost anything to see and hear your voice again. But I would be too much of a distraction. _He smiled. _Just know that I will take care of everything and that I hope this all ends soon. _

_With much love, _

_Mary_

He then turned to other three letters. He hesitated before picking up the first one. His children haven't even seen him before. He has never seen them! How will they know that he is their father? Will he… he grimaced… live to see them? Touch them and hold them when they got nightmares?

He grabbed the first letter. It was written delicately yet there was innocence to the wording.

_Dear Sir…_

_I guess that since Mom says that you are my dad, I guess then you are not a sir. _He gave a small chuckle. _Thank you for the magic paper. Now, Gabby's drawings move! _

_Love you! _

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Symphony_

With a sad smile, he picked up the second letter.

_Dear Daddy,_

His eyebrows furrowed. Daddy? He began again.

_Dear Daddy, _

_Today I picked a flower that was all green and had four petals. Like this:_

A four-leafed clover with a smiling face waved up at him.

_Mom says that you and Sev look a lot alike. Do I look like you?_

Below, a crude stick figure with yellow hair, two different colored eyes, and a smile wearing a blue triangle for clothing waved up at him next to the clover.

_Thank you for the glowing flower. Mom put it in a cup and on my window. She says it will glow every new moon and every full moon. Tonight is a full moon! I am going to stay up! But I'll do it without Sev catching me. _

_Gabby_

Severus noticed a small tear on his cheek and brushed it away. He picked up the final letter. The writing was like chicken scratches and barely readable.

_Dear Dad, _

_I'm not good at writing letters… Mom is trying to get me to write more but Symphony makes fun of me. She says that I am nothing like you. She says that you are smart and can write a bagazillion letters without stopping. Sometimes I wish she would just go away…_

_Sev_

_P.S. Are you really my dad or is just a joke Mom is playing on us? I wish you were my dad. _

_Sev_

Severus sat back. _Just like me._ He thought as he looked in the box again to make sure he didn't miss anything. He did. Another envelope lay inside. The words 'Family Photos' written carefully on the front. He hesitated.

"What is wrong, Severus?" Dumbledore's voice came from across the room.

Severus ignored as he turned the envelope around and opened it. Inside a note that said,

_Don't tell Mary that I took a photo of your kids. She talks so fondly of you. _

_B. Pardonly._

He put the note down and pulled two pictures out of the envelope. The top photo was of three children, around the age of six, laughing. Two golden haired girls had their arms wrapped around a black-haired boy who smirked as if enjoying the attention. The second photo was black and white of a familiar witch sitting by the window looking out. She was wearing a muggle sundress and her hair was cut short. The photo only caught one side of her face but he could tell a shadow of a smile dancing on her lips. She never turned to face the camera but Severus could see her rotating his ring around her finger and her chest rising and falling.

Then a dreadful thought came to his mind. _She's never going to love me the same. _He thought of the night Dumbledore begged him. Begged his death from an already guilty wand, a guilty man of the same crime he committed on a well-loved idol of the wizarding world. He returned the photos to their envelope and put the envelope back in the box along with the letters. Just as he put the box securely away in one of the thousands of drawers, the fireplace turned up in green flames and two figures stepped through.

"Ah, Severus Snape." One of the figures said with a sneer. She was portly and in dire need of a bath. But no one dared tell Alecto Carrow that. No one even mentions it if she or her thin-limbed brother were in the room.

"Alecto. Amycus. Pleasure to see you both. What do you wish of me?" He stood and glared menacingly at them. Dumbledore's expression behind the heads of the Carrows told him that he was again surprised in the change of emotion. One moment, he was smiling sadly at the laughing, careless faces of his children, the next, looking as though someone had spat a foul name at him.

Amycus casually took his wand out. "The Dark Lord sent us-"

"To be my Deputies. I am fully aware of your roles here. Anything else?" Snape cut off. He looked at their mildly stunned faces and sneered. "Or were you just stopping by for a cup of tea before you went on your duties?"

The twins looked smugly at each other. Alecto spoke. "And what does the headmaster wish to be our duties?"

Inside, Snape's heart was straining. He hated what he was going to say next but he knew that he had to have their complete trust before the end. "Amycus, Defense against the Dark Arts. Alecto, Muggle studies. What you do in your free time will not be decided by me. Now go!" He ordered. For a moment the twins stood there and smirked at him. "Did I stutter? I am sure there is a student in dire need of discipline." He watched at their faces lit up as they flew out the door.

With a lazy wave of his wand, he shut and locked the door. He put his face into his hands and tried to block out Dumbledore's irksome humming. Then all too suddenly it stopped. He looked up. Dumbledore was moving through the picture frames, giving his many apologies, and looking at something behind Severus. He followed the late Headmaster's gaze up to the top of the staircase behind him.

"What are you looking at?" Snape demanded softly.

Dumbledore looked at him. "Thought I saw something." He shook his head then looked at the hearth.

Severus stood and went to it. He gave Dumbledore a confused look but then with a burst of blue flame, he was knocked to the floor hard. He shoved the attacker from him, it trying to hold his chest, and stood, drawing his wand.

His attacker was small, dressed in ash covered traveling robes, and on the floor shaking. A hood was drawn over its head and hid the face rather well from Severus's prying eyes. If he hadn't known better, he would have said it was Mundungus but it looked too delicate and innocent for some reason.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's voice boomed, cracking the stiff silence. The attacker whipped around onto its knees and looked up at Dumbledore. His hood fell back in the process revealing black hair and what looked like golden hair underneath it. Severus was dumbfounded. It was a child! "What is your name?"

"Where is my mom?" The boy demanded.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not know. But I can point you to the nearest person."

He pointed at Snape. The boy turned around and looked up. For a moment, both struggled for words. It was Snape who finally bent down and took the boy's cheek in his hand. The boy's eyes were blacker than night. And he looked almost exactly like Snape when he was around six.

"Who are you?" Snape asked. He knew exactly who the boy way, but couldn't believe it.

The boy broke from his stupor and held out his hand. "Sev." He said simply. Snape took his hand.

"I am Severus." Snape said in a low whisper. The boy looked at him in confusion.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I am speechless. She was right, Dumbledore! He does look like me!" A small smile graced his face.

Sev's eyes widened. "You're my father…" He breathed.

Snape gave in and nodded, wordlessly. Sev leapt up into his arms with a happy shout. "I knew that Symphony was wrong!" Something caught his laugh short and the boy pulled away looking around frantically. "Where are they? Symphony and Gabby? Did they come here?"

"No one but you." Snape said, a familiar dread rising in his chest. He went to the fireplace. "Minerva to my office. Now!" He turned to Sev and for the next several minutes tried finding a safe place for him, finally finding it in an old chest by his desk. A meek knock at the door came just as Snape put a silencing spell over the chest. "Enter."

Minerva entered, confused as of why Snape sounded so winded. He stood in front of his desk, leaning almost lazily against it. A small smile spread on his face. She noted how… out-of-character it seemed.

"Yes, Headmaster?" She tried painting a bored look on her face and avoided making eye contact.

The smile faded and was replaced with a more characteristic sneer. "I have called you here to tell you that should you find any student who is harboring fugitives, that they are to be brought immediately to my office. Pass my words along. I trust you can do that."

"Yes, Headm-"

"Have you seen two blonds, smaller than first years wandering the halls?" He interrupted. She looked into his eyes and found a glimmer of… what was that?

"No, sir."

The glimmer faded. "You are dismissed. And do not forget my words. They are for everyone's good."

"Yes, Headmaster." Minerva exited the office, both confused and furious. Neither emotion showed on her face as she returned to teach her class.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Disclaimer here)**

**Sorry for not updating sooner! Oh, and those just joining the story, Garrisons are the American Version of Aurors (In the Prologue).**

**With out further distraction:**

Chapter Two

Mary's body ached. She had no idea where she was and was certainly unsure if her children were safe or in danger. She tried to move but the best she could do was moan. She tried to sit up but failed as she fell back to the ground, weak. She didn't dare open her eyes, it felt that even if she did, that they would be swollen shut. She winced as she remembered the Crucio curse coursing through her. _Better me than my children. _She thought, a small tear escaping her swollen eyes.

Somewhere a distant door opened and there was creaking as if someone climbing down an old wooden ladder or steps.

"Where is she, Bella?" Mary knew that voice. She hadn't heard it in six long years but she knew it. Mum.

"Does the Dark Lord know that you are going to see her?" Mary vaguely remembered the responding voice and it chilled her.

"He does. Severus persuaded the Dark Lord to allow me to speak to her. Now, please, tell me where she is?"

There was a silence between Mum and Bella but it soon was broken with the clacking of boots on the stone floor.

"Here."

"Ballari!" The door's lock clicked and Mary felt as though the ropes from around her had been dispelled. She moved weakly in relief. Narcissa gently sat her up and put her against the wall. "What happened? Where were you these years? Weren't you and-" She stopped there and looked at Bellatrix who had raised an eyebrow.

"No… we weren't happy. I left for America and tried to forget him." Mary slurred. Her lips were swollen and cracked with each word. There was a faint taste of blood as she tried to moisten them. "But then four Death Eaters attacked and now, I'm here, treated like some idiot traitor." She added sourly.

Narcissa looked at Bellatrix who was smiling approvingly. She didn't see that Mary's swollen eyes were turning wheels of ideas. Mary slightly shifted bringing Narcissa's attention back to her. She hated trying to trick her mother, the woman who raised her, but knew that if Narcissa or even worse, Bellatrix, found out about her three children, who seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, Severus, the Malfoys, she and most likely the children would be ultimately killed. She bowed her head and twiddled her thumbs. A strange habit that she learned from Bryanna…

"May she rest in peace…" Mary mumbled.

"Who?" Bellatrix questioned.

"A woman who protected me while I was in America. She had learned of the Dark Lord and supported his cause. She was killed when the Death Eaters came and brought me here."

Bellatrix nodded slightly, her eyes distant. Narcissa had a strange and almost confused look on her face but tried to push the feeling away. Mary looked up at her.

"Would you present me to the Dark Lord so I may beg for his divine forgiveness?"

Her mother stumbled for words but Bellatrix grinned. "Only if you tell me who you were running from." Mary felt a cold hand on her cheek. "Just so his Lordship knows." She added.

Mary, as best she could, looked up at the black clad witch and with a grim expression said, "Devon Andrews." She looked at her feet. "Idiot tried to kill me when I left." It seemed to be a brilliant lie, she knew a Devon Andrews in school. He mocked her for being blind and unable to do magic.

Bellatrix nodded. "We will return. Come, Sissy."

Narcissa gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"I am doing this not for me, Mum." Mary breathed. Then to make sure that Bellatrix wouldn't get an idea in her head, she added a little louder. "I'm doing this for the beginning of a new world."

Bellatrix's smile deepened as she and her sister climbed out of the holding cells. She looked at Sissy, who wore a contemplative expression on her face.

"What is it, Sissy?" She placed a foul-smelling arm around her.

Narcissa wrinkled her nose but didn't pull away. "I was really hoping to have grandchildren by now." She looked into Bella's eyes. Both were sly, deceiving and dark. "Do you think the Dark Lord would let her join his army? Even with the testimonies of Scabior and Jugson?"

Bellatrix frowned. "She has repented and asked you to present her. Best do it. His Dark Lord is in need of younger blood."

In Northern England, there were not many houses that were abandoned. Save the one on Viking Hill. It was built of stone, surrounded with a tall, stone wall on all sides, and the only way inside was through a large, black metal gate. Muggles in the town of Harrying of the North all agreed that the house ought to remain on the Hill as some headstone of the past. They never went and looked through it or even had the thought go through their head that the house was abandoned because there always seemed to be something inside. Lights, mostly candles, moving across the windows, sounds of crashing and loud cursing echoed from deep within. Many Muggles thought it was haunted. It was… to a point.

Symphony and Gabby awoke to the sound of books dropping. They looked up at a strange looking creature, wearing an old pillowcase with holes cut out for its head and arms. It had a long nose, floppy ears and big, bright green eyes. At its feet, a pile of old, dusty books lay scattered. They looked at each other before a voice from above and behind them, snarled,

"Who are you to enter my house? Get out!"

Symphony stood, an annoyed look on her face, and dusted her robe off. Gabby followed but didn't at all looked annoyed. She looked downright terrified. The owner of the voice was a painting above the mantle piece of the fireplace. He had salt and peppered hair with angry blue eyes. His nose was wrinkled at the older girl's casualty.

"Forgive us, but we needed a place to hide, sire." Symphony sounded braver than she actually felt. But for Gabby, she had to be strong. And she wasn't going to let anything or any painting hurt her little sister.

"Sire? Ha!" Gabby jumped. "And who are you hiding from?" The man demanded.

Symphony looked at the ground, suddenly defeated. Then her head perked up as if suddenly remembering something. "Have you seen a boy with black hair-"

"And a golden hair patch on his neck." Gabby added.

"Running around?" Symphony finished.

The man grumbled. "No. Just you two. And what does that have to do anything? You are trespassing in my house! Snap, take them out!"

The creature moved towards them. Gabby looked at him and waved her hands. A large, dusty couch lifted from the floor and hovered above the creature. She let her hand drop in surprise and the couch dropped with it. The creature struggled to get out, its nose was bleeding and it looked like it was in a lot of pain.

"Gabby! Go apologize!" Symphony scolded. Gabby, still surprised, stood there as the man growled,

"You idiot! Who are you to trespass in my house then attack my house elf?"

Gabby swirled on him, Hot tears in her eyes. "We didn't mean to come here. We don't know where we are, or who you are. My mom is missing, my brother is missing, my dad…" She looked down then back up. "Is most likely missing and you are treating us like a bunch of cows who don't know any better. We're sorry about trespassing but seeing as we don't know where we are trespassing, it would be good if you told us!"

The man looked surprised. The girl's miss-matched eyes stared angrily up at him; her sister had folded her arms and looked almost as though she was thinking the same thing that her sister just voiced. "I am Silas Devon. Descendent of Hellos Hufflepuff, brother of Helga who was one of the four founders of Hogwarts."

"Who's Hellos?" Gabby questioned. "And Helga?"

Silas rolled his eyes. "And who are you?"

"I'm Symphony and this is my sister Gabriella." Symphony said giving Gabby as small indication.

"Who is your brother?" The angry look in the painting's eyes was faded and gentle.

"His name is Severus. Mom's name is Mary and-"

Silas's eyes widened. "Mary Gaunt-Devon?" He stood up from a chair and walked out of the frame without hearing their response. They heard his voice in a distant room. "Susan! Mother! Father! Mary's alive! Her children are standing on our hearth!"

Symphony leaned in to Gabby. "Strange. I have never seen a picture move before."

"Me neither. Do you think he is still mad at us?"

"No. I wonder if there is anyone still living here."

"There's that… what did he call it?" Gabby pointed at the creature that seemed to finally pulled himself out and was passed out on the rug.

"A house elf. Snap, I think its name is."

Silas wandered back into the frame, accompanied by three other people. Two were white haired and looked as if they had just woken up and the third had long black hair with strings of silver woven into a braid that fell over her regal shoulder.

"Symphony, Gabriella, please meet your Great-Grandmother Susan and your great, great- grandparents on your mother's side, Goran and Jen. And you told me of your brother?"

"Severus. We don't know where he is. Or where we are."

The old, white haired man unceremoniously took Silas's seat and looked at them with scrutinizing, grey eyes. "They look like Devons. Nice figures… lovely clear eyes and it seems as though they have moved the blasted sofa. Must be powerful in magic. They have Slia's golden hair though. Da-"

"Don't you dare go foul tongued." The white haired woman said. The man hissed.

"Don't tell me what to do, you old woman." Silas and Susan looked confused but Gabby and Symphony looked as though they understood every word. Goran was about to continue when he saw Jen looking at the two girls. She hissed back.

"They understand us, dear."

The girls nodded. Goran looked interested. "Who is your father?"

"Severus Snape." Gabby said automatically.

"Our brother goes by the same name. Mom says they even look alike."

"Snape… Where have I heard that name before? One moment." Silas stepped out of the frame. The three paintings held the two girls stares until he returned with a dark haired man who looked to be the youngest. Not one speck of grey showed in his hair and his vivid green eyes looked as though he had been given a large gift for his birthday. His thin face looked at them with awe as he stepped away from the other four and closer to the girls.

"They look just like her." He breathed. "Just like Mary and her mother." He moved his hand as if to shake but hesitantly put his hand on his heaving chest as if suddenly realizing that no one can shake hands with a painting. "I'm… Andrew, your grandfather… my Father tells me that you arrived this morning."

"We came from place called Corn Field Row in America. Four men attacked our house and I brought us here."

Andrew smiled gently and looked at Snap. "Heal yourself and make yourself useful to Mistresses- forgive me I do not know your names. What good is a grandfather if I don't know your names?"

"Its Symphony and Gabriella." Silas said, pointing.

"Please call me Gabby. I like it better." Gabby whispered.

"Yes, yes." Andrew waved. "Make yourself useful to Mistresses Symphony and Gabby. Obey their every order unfailingly, do you hear?"

Snap snapped his long, leathery fingers and stood, warily testing his right leg with his weight and then bowed. He gathered the books, levitated the couch back to its place and began to clean furiously. The girls followed him everywhere; he gladly showed them the house, save one room at the top of the stairs. But they didn't notice as he spun fantastic tales of a dark lord, an old prophecy and Hogwarts. Apparently, there were whole books on it and soon the girls sat quietly in the sunlight, pouring over the books with long, complicated words but were too excited to even notice the difficulty.

**Sorry again for updating late. **


	4. Chapter 3

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Disclaimer here)**

**Um… again… nothing to say. **

Chapter Three

Dumbledore listened to the other Painting with interest. He had come in the middle of the night, claiming that he was Mary's father and Severus's grandfather and Headmaster Snape's father-in-law. The other late headmaster's were shouting protests until the more current one came from his personal chambers with a shirtless boy in tow.

"Now they my great-grandparent's home, Snap, the house elf is tending to them. Please believe me, I attended Hogwarts but I am a Squib. The only thing I have is my word." He pleaded. Severus lifted Sev up onto his side. The man, claiming himself as Andrew Devon, looked at them with wide eyes. "And you must be Severus."

Neither Severus knew whom he was talking about but both nodded. Andrew smiled. "Forgive me, I was talking to the Boy… but my goodness, his older sisters were not fibbing when they told me that he looked like you, sir. Is it true he had a patch of gold hair on his neck?"

Severus looked momentarily confused but nodded when the boy turned his head and lifted his long hair from his neck. It was deep golden and thin.

"Amazing…"

"So my daughters are where?" Snape demanded.

"In Harrying of the North. The Devon Manor on Viking Hill to be exact." Andrew said. Severus made a move towards the fireplace but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Only the boy."

Severus whirled around, almost dropping his son. "Why? I have never seen my daughters!"

"Severus, if the Dark Lord suddenly thinks you distracted, it would be very difficult to be in this office without the Carrows or any other Death Eater constantly bothering you. Send the boy, he would undoubtedly be safer there by a very long shot." Dumbledore said calmly, a hint of regret lacing his voice.

Severus put his son on the ground and strode back into his personal chambers. He strode out with his son's traveling cloak and shirt and helped him put them on.

"Where are your shoes?" He asked, not even bothering to hide his heartache. Sev thought a moment before hurrying up to the chest and pulling his shoes out. He put them on then joined his father at the fireplace. His dad bent and kissed the top of his head and pulled him close. "Severus, whatever happens, know that I love you, dearly. And that I will always be with you and your sisters. I'll find a way to come and find you before the end, I promise."

"Will you find Mom?"

Snape hesitated then nodded, his heart aching. "I promise. Now step in."

Sev obeyed and watched as his dad looked up at Andrew.

"Be there and meet him." He said, emotion running wild in his voice. He took a handful of green powder and gave Sev a sorrowful smile before saying, "Devon Manor, Harrying of the North." He threw the powder in and just as the green flames disappeared, his left arm, where the Dark Mark lay, began to sting. He looked at Dumbledore. "He's calling me. I shall return."

…**.**

Mary looked herself in the mirror a final time. Her hair was washed and combed, her wounds headed, save a bit of blue by her lips, and she was dressed in deep green. Narcissa smiled at her, forcing back her own uneasiness for her sake.

"Are you ready, Ballari?"

"Yes." She took her mother's arm and let her lead her out into the hallway. Mary silently listened to Narcissa's mangled thoughts.

_What is she doing? Who is Devon? What happened between her and Severus? Does she know what may happen if the Dark Lord does not find her good enough? Does Draco know? _Narcissa went on and on in questions that no one could really answer. And soon, Mary was led to the large banquet hall. Two Death Eaters smirked at them an opened the door.

Whatever conversation there was, stopped as soon as the door opened. Many faces, most Mary could not recognize, looked at her as Narcissa led her to in front of a large, throne-like chair with a pale, bald man sitting in it. Mary nearly froze with fear when he looked her over with his large, red eyes. This was the Dark Lord. This was the man responsible for her blindness all through school. Beside him, Mary did not notice, Snape stood still with a forced blank expression on his face.

"May I present, my lost daughter, Ballari Trixi Malfoy." Narcissa bowed low in front of the man. Mary followed.

"Rise, Ballari Trixi. Tell me, who are you named after?"

"My aunt, Bellatrix." To Severus, she sounded more confident than she looked. Her face was pale and slightly bruised from the beating the Death Eaters lay on her and her dark hair was pulled back in a very tight braid and her robe was still too big for her figure. "My name mean, quiet one."

Voldemort smiled. He had been given her wand and now spun it in his hands. "What make is your wand?"

"Ivy and a combination of basilisk skin and Shuckle heartstring." She said, not daring to look at the wand.

There was a soft murmur in the Death Eaters. "They are curious with your dueling skills." Voldemort said softly. "But I am more curious with your wand. Who gave it to you?"

"None of Ollivander's wands agreed with me, so I was taken to a man who lived in the Orients so he could make me a wand. I was told to bring several woods; Ivy was one of them, and suggestions of cores. He made many wands with the woods, save the Ivy, but none bonded. He had tried using the Basilisk skin and Shuckle heartstring in the different woods but when he combined them with the Ivy, the wand bonded."

"Does it obey you?"

"It does, my Lord."

"Will it obey me, willingly?"

"No one can guess, my Lord."

There was a heavy silence. Then Voldemort, with a grim smile, stood and waved the wand. "Crucio!"

Mary fell to the floor. Severus had to use all of his will power and then some to stay in place. After several seconds of watching the girl, writhe in silence, Voldemort released her and stepped from his throne. A ghost of disappointment on his face.

"Stand." He said simply. Mary struggled to her feet; she didn't move to fix her hair but rather gave a small bow to him. He was very impressed. "You live up to your name, Ballari. But you wand has not obeyed me. It was very reluctant. No snake would defy me, which brings the question of a Shuckle. I am not familiar with the creature or term. Would you explain?"

"Yes, my lord. It is a ground, dwelling creature in the turtle family. It is often seen in wands that are devoted to healing and defense. Your unfamiliarity with the creature was greater than mine or my family's."

"Yes… yes…" He gave her the wand. "How well do you fight?"

"Well, your Lordship."

A smile began to spread on his face. "Who was the most recent that you dueled?"

A grieved expression was forced onto her face. "Forgive me, my lord, I fought unwillingly back at your servants without knowing their intention to return me here." She bowed deeply. She stood straight when he put a hand on her shoulder. He studied her for a moment before looking at the Death Eaters. He paused his search momentarily on Lucius but moved on. Soon his eyes fell on Thorfinn Rowle. He waved him over.

"My lord?" He asked.

"Duel her. Until she gives or you fail."

_Not going to happen_. He thought as Voldemort stepped carefully back to his throne.

"Be sure they don't kill each other, Severus." He said as he sat.

Mary could not help but look at Severus. She hadn't noticed him until now and he looked as though he was going be very sick. But his voice came smoothly to her mind as she walked into place and readied herself. _Helga Hufflepuff was known to read the minds of those she dueled with ease. Rowle is a more of brute strength kind of dueler. He should be easy to win over._

_Any spells he is weak against?_

_Those that throw him across the room. Be silent in your casting. He is quick to counter. _

"Begin." Came the whispered command.

Rowle screamed out, "Incendio!" A shot of hot fire twirled at Mary.

She rolled easily out of the way and waved her wand. A bright blue stream of light lit up the room and the faces of the Death Eaters. At first, everyone thought she missed when the spell wove around Rowle. He smirked just before the spell turned back and slammed into his back. There was a sickening snap as his back broke. She strode up to him, unstopped by anyone and healed him before throwing him against the ceiling, wordlessly.

He yelled out in pain as each of his ribs broke.

"Enough." Voldemort whispered. She gently set him back down on the ground and kneeled.

"You have not proven much." He said.

Severus could have jumped with the sudden look of mischief in his wife's eyes. She pointed her wand at the moaning Rowle and a bright red light grabbed his wand and twisted in the air as she bent the spell around the room. Wands that were in pockets, holsters or hands were ripped from their owners and when she had completed a single round around the room, she set the wands neatly at Voldemort's feet. He raised his eyebrow and looked at Severus for a moment before facing forward again.

"You say that your wand has healing powers. Heal Thorfinn." He demanded softly, not really looking back at her.

She muttered, "Sanopleneos."

Rowle's crushed ribs pushed back out one by one as each mended. He howled in pain but soon he was sitting up, looking fearfully at Mary and Voldemort.

"Forgive me if I have gone too far or not far enough. If it be your wish, I will duel another." She said with a bow.

He thought a moment. "Severus… I am sure you can bring out the best in her."

"Yes, my Lord." He removed his cloak and strode up to Mary, blank faced, as Rowle scampered to the sidelines. _I don't want to hurt you, Mary. I haven't seen you in so long._

_Does he know of the children?_ Mary's face looked a slight bit nervous as they did the proper introductions and walked into position.

_I do not know. _He raised his wand.

_Who is going to win, Severus?_

_Let's see how we do first._

"Begin."

Almost immediately, the room was set ablaze with spells. The duelers often reached impasses but found ways to bend around them. All the while, they muttered apologies to each other with each cast spell. They twisted and almost danced around and around until Severus thought,

_Impasse. Now. _"Expelliarmus!"

"Desino Pugnacitus!"

The spells met in an explosion that shook the Malfoy Manor to the very foundation. The glinting golden dis-arming spell blended and melted with the brilliant silver spell in a great heat. Voldemort stood.

"Enough." He said with a proud smile on his face. Mary broke the spell off at the same time as Snape and both bowed. Voldemort beckoned them to him. "Give me your wand." He held his hand out to Mary. She put her wand, unwillingly into his hand, careful not to put the emotion of reluctance in her eyes. "I have found you worthy to join us, Ballari. However, your six year disappearance to America leave much in question."

"If it is your will, shall I explain my actions?" Mary gave another bow.

"You may."

"I was in America seeking shelter from a man by the name of Andrews. He had tried accosting me several times while in school and after our school years. I was under the Apprenticeship of your servant, Severus Snape, when I fled to America, finally weary of Andrews petty attempts to rectify his mockery."

"Rumor was that there were three children with you."

"It was an illusion against attackers."

"And the American Aurors?"

"I gained the trust of the American Ministry of Magic and a Witch by the name of Pardonly. I had claimed to them that I was running to America for protection; forgive me, from you, should you rise to power. They believed me and thus sent protection against your servants. They did not know that they were being fooled."

"And your plea?"

"To join you in your conquest for the new world order. It will be my vow to serve you and your servants in all ways." Her bow deepened. "I would give up all for your new world and for you, my lord."

Voldemort nodded and turned to Severus. "Does she pass your regulations?"

"My regulations are those you set for all to strive for. If she is competent to your high standards, then she is fit for the tasks that you may give her." Snape said rather stiffly with a small nod.

"Very well. Rise. Welcome to my family, Ballari. Present your arm."

She did so, all the while listening to Severus' panicking thoughts. _No, Mary. Please don't. Not like me._

Before an overwhelming pain took her, her thoughts whispered back,

_Where is Severus? Where is my son?_

Severus watched in blank horror as a skull began to mar his wife's quivering right arm. A snake began to slither from the tip of her middle finger and into the eye of the skull. It dropped out of the jaw in an intricate knot and stopped moving. Mary's face had small beads of sweat dotting it and she looked very ill. She swayed and tried to keep her feet as best she could but crumbled to the ground.

"Do you regret now?"

"With pain, comes war. With war, comes sacrifice. With sacrifice, comes hope. With hope, comes a new world. No, I do not regret my choice." Mary said as solidly as she could.

"Severus, take her back to Hogwarts and see that she is made useful there. I expect many things from you, Ballari. And should you fail, Crucio!"

A mind-numbing pain, like thousands upon thousands of hot knives, raged in Mary's body for several moments before it was gone. Her wand was dropped unceremoniously in front of her as Voldemort disbanded his knights with a casual wave. Severus, with a forced sneer, pulled her up and grabbed her wand. He led her to the Malfoy fireplace where a familiar blond stood with wide eyes.

"Draco?"

"Ballari? Wh-why did you come back? Where did you go?"

"If you heard nothing, she was in America." Snape said wearily. All he wanted was to get her back into the safety of his chambers for a very long night. "If you will excuse us."

He took a handful of green powder and escorted Mary in. "My office!" Green fire took them.

Before the green flames faded, Severus had pulled Mary into an embrace. The world seemed to have stopped spinning and the late Headmasters smiled at them. Save a few who were sleeping. Before too long, Severus kissed her gently on her neck. He kissed trails from her ear to her shoulder.

"Where is Severus?" She said pulling away.

For a moment, Severus looked torn but smiled encouragingly. "He's at Viking Hill. Along with his sisters. I met your father. He was a painting but I met him nonetheless. Was Viking Hill really the place you were born?"

She frowned. "I don't know. All I know is that I became blind shortly after my mother tried to run from Voldemort's advances. I don't know what happened to my father."

He nodded. "Do you wish to join them?"

"Severus!" She looked suddenly very terrified. Her eyes widened and her breathing became suddenly very erratic. It was a trance. She fell to the floor as she held her head, heaving in pain. Soon she lay still, flat on her back and staring wide-eyed and in horror up at the ceiling.

"The first snow was settling down on the forest floor. What were once three was now two and those who remain wandered missing the third, secretly. Privately. They are searching for many things yet all the same. A burden of sorrow is theirs until its eventual destruction. A boy who had lived is doomed to die before the end. All that once was good is faded. The heart has crumbled with years and soon, there will be nothing left, save a way be found to escape." She muttered in a low whisper. Severus had called Poppy to his office and had listened to her with a growing fear. He leapt at the door when a knock came.

"Yes, Headmaster?" Pomfrey looked fearfully at him but then it turned into concern when he saw his frantic expression.

"Step inside." He offered.

She stepped in and saw Mary sprawled out on the floor, muttering something under breath.

"When did she-"

"Hush. You are the only person to know of her return. Not even Minerva knows. Just you and me. Where are the Carrows?"

"They are reaping havoc in the Astronomy tower. Why is Mary here? I thought she had left?"

"She was gone but the Death Eaters found her and nearly the children. Poppy, she, to save her life and mine, she became a Death Eater. I will be the first to say, she will not fight you or anyone of the Order. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Any questions?"

"Does she still love you?"

He sighed. "I think that she needs a full night's sleep before that could be decided. Now go, please."

Poppy barely made down the stairs when the Carrows, pulling between them another unfortunate student, marched up to the Headmaster's office. She waited until the door slammed before she huffed indignantly back to the Hospital wing and its many occupants.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Disclaimer: Insert here. IE: I own nothing…. Save Mary/Ballari)**

**OK…. Really sorry about not updating…. Bunch of family problems, not to mention a rather bad case of brief writer's block. I cannot believe that school is starting in two weeks. (I live in a really stupid school district… not even the fact that we get computers helps with the stupidity. It, in fact, enhances the brainless dump that we call the Hill) Anyway, I am getting away from the point. I AM REALLY SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! *Bows very low…. So without further ado, **

Chapter Four

Sev woke up with a crick in his neck. For a moment, he forgot where he was but with a quick look up at Silas Devon, he soon figured out that he was at the Viking Hill Manor or more commonly known as the Devon Manor. Gently rubbing his sore neck, he pulled off the scratchy quilt and stood on the icy-cold floor. In a distant room, a clock began to chime.

_Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding…._

He frowned a little before grabbing his shoes and cloak from off the floor and putting them on. Silas snored heavily and it came to Sev as a great surprise that he could fall asleep at all. Dad barely slept or ate but only did when Sev asked him too. Even then he wasn't sure if his dad actually snooze or swallowed. Wrapping himself in his cloak, he slowly began to wander out into a great hall.

Untouched for what seemed like years had made the hall's gleaming marble pillars dull with dust. At one end of the hall, a great door stood locked against the outside world. At the other, a staircase that was even more fantastic than the ones at Hogwarts. There were six pillars in all, about three times the height of his father and about six feet in diameter. Three on one side, three on the other. Above him, the grand staircase landing formed into a terrace, also untouched. On either side of the terrace, doors that most likely led into bedrooms or libraries stood open and inviting. He began to walk up the staircase and when he reached the middle he stopped and looked around again.

On the farthest end, nearest to the big door, on either side of the hall, small staircases led up into a second level of the terrace. In the dim morning light, he could barely see the bottom of the second level. He did see, two bright blue eyes then a second set of near golden eyes peering down at him. He wasn't sure if they were just things of his imagination or actual things. He shivered and turned his back on them to continue his climb. When he reached the landing, he looked back up to find that the eyes were gone. For some reason, he felt suddenly alone. _I thought Dad said that Symphony and Gabby were here._ He thought pitifully. He looked to his right and walked. He looked in the first open door. It had tall shelves, full of books and object of strange origin. He took a step in and was immediately lifted up by his left foot. He was too surprised to cry out and too terrified to feel the screaming pain in his leg. When he got over the initial shock, he was already on the ground being looked at by two, leather-skinned things with great big eyes and flabby ears. One was taller than the other and had blue eyes. The other having hazel eyes.

"Forgive us, dear master. If we had known that you were going to up early, we would have disarmed the jinxes that Master Silas placed on each room." The blue-eyed thing said with a small bow.

"What are you?" Sev couldn't help it but both of the things… creatures… whatever they were smiled politely at him.

The hazel-eyed thing answered. "We are house-elves, little Master. Sworn to serve the Devons until we are either freed or dead." She paused for the initial understanding to take place before continuing. "Minks and Snap are very sorry for your leg. But we mended it with no time."

Sev marked how there was a dull ache in his leg and tried to stand. A sudden burst of pain when he set his foot carefully on the ground made him wince. The house-elves gave each other a worried glance before Minks retreated out of the room.

"Where is he going?" Sev asked as nicely as he could through clenched teeth. Snap gave him a confused look.

"_She _is going to get some potion for Little Master. Master Goran was an excellent Potions Master and even helped cure some of the effects of vampire bites. He was beginning to work on curing werewolf bites altogether when he was killed by his half-brother."

Sev again wasn't sure if he ought to be sick, confused or worried. He took another look around the room and his eyes fell on a small, round red stone on one of the high shelves. It was sitting on a similarly small wooden stand and glowed slightly. Snap had followed his gaze.

"That is an Eternal Stone. Or at least a small bit of it. Of course, there is a small change in it that sets it apart from other magical stones." Snap said.

Sev winced and looked at him. "What's that?"

"It calls to the spirits of the dead." Snap said in a small whisper. Minks returned with a bottle filled with a pale red, almost pink, liquid.

"Minks bid you to drink. It will make Little Master Feel better." She held it up to him.

…

Mary felt almost dead. Weeks ago, she had given her loyalties to Voldemort. She had lied to him, saying that all she had was his forever. She had lied to his snake-face that she had no children, no life other than the one she gave to him. Now, as she lay in Severus's bed, him gently snoring next to her, she felt as though she truly had given the Dark Lord everything. She, fearfully, was beginning to forget the voices of her children, what they looked like, what they smelt like. She smiled sadly in the darkness.

Symphony, a regally poised child with what seemed like age-old knowledge of the world around her. She could read into almost anyone, sympathizing or scolding them accordingly. She knew perfectly what was right and wrong and yet that was her smallest downfall. She was full of duty but little passion for the pleasantries. Mary had secretly hoped that she would grow out of it but it seemed that there was no change in sight.

Gabby was certainly the most playful. But like her sister, she was restrained before speaking as she analyzed the mood. However, unlike her sister and more like her brother, she was rather unsure of the things around her. Her joys consisted in things that grew and studied them, rain or shine. Fall and winter, she was dull and seemed to have no life. Her sun-kissed skin and hair paled as if they, with the plants, died. But come spring and summer, her pale skin and hair turned rich and lively again. Even as an infant, Gabby had always paid close attention to the weather.

Then there was Sev. Unlike both of his sisters in appearance but was every bit like them intellectually. He was a little version of his father and had seemingly gained all of his insecurities and strengths and none of his mother's. He was gentle yet could turned very foul in a moment. He was the only one who could disguise any emotion from his sisters and even his mother. Like his father, he took delight in reading and study. When he was three, he found an old violin and began playing on it. There was no actual tune to it, but Mary had watched him as he swayed for hours listening to the secret flow that his small fingers wove.

Mary stifled a small sigh and wiped her tears. It was defiantly morning, but it was still too early for the sun. She rolled over and looked at Severus. Compared to how he had been sleeping, he was in a deep sleep. Almost content. Mary smiled at him before sitting up, careful not to disturb him. She wrapped her bedroom robe around her and went out into the sitting room. On the far end, complete opposite of the bedroom, was the door that led out into the office. Spells, hexes and jinxes guarded the door from the Carrows. She looked at the smoldering fire and went to stand by it. She barely felt its warmth and despaired. Kneeling, she winced as her leg's skin strained against the thin, uniform cuts on the upper of her thigh. She reached for her pocket, for the object to end it all, when a long-fingered hand grabbed, gently, her wrist.

She looked up into Gook's eyes. They were sympathetic as she gently pulled out his grasp and lifted the object from her pocket. It was long with a black handle and its blade glinted in the smoldering light. She looked at it, a mixed emotion in her eyes.

"Gook, for the sake of his Master and Mistress, must ask to take It from you."

'It' was the blade's name. Mary could never bring herself to use it for an eternal purpose but was oddly relaxed with it in her pocket and even more when it was in her hands.

"No, Gook. What would I do without it?" She mumbled. She heard the bed creak in the other room and quickly stowed it in her pocket. The cuts screamed softly when the weight was added on but Mary didn't react.

Severus, however, reacted. He had opened his eyes the moment she opened the bedroom door. He almost wished he hadn't when he saw the tip of a dark handle poking out of her robe. He had sent Gook to retrieve the object, half-frightened with its mystery. He had silently stood in the doorway and watched as his wife drew out the thing and held it on her lap like some precious item. He now was sitting on the bed, a grieved wave of emotion on his face.

"I can't sit here like this." He breathed to himself. And he stood and strode out into the sitting room. His wife was still sitting there demurely, hands empty. Gook looked at him and nodded. Gook, unceremoniously, reached forward and pulled the object from the pocket. Mary didn't do anything but rather bowed her head.

"Mary, why?" Severus couldn't help but feel angry. She was strong, she had placed a barrier around Potter his first year when he fought for the stone against Quirrell, she had fled from Britain and from her happiness for six long years with the results of their union growing around her whereas he had little joy save from the occasional appearance of her owl. She had all the rights in the world to be happy, and yet she was bent to destroy herself with a blade that glinted evilly at him, almost smirking triumphantly. He walked up to her and from behind, picked her up and sat down with her on his lap.

"Why?" He asked again.

She shook her head. Tears flowing down her face.

"Mary… you lived six years with our children. I had to stay and fulfill duties I swore to. You may think you have all the rights in the world to do this," He pointed at the object in Gook's hands. "But you honestly don't. Mary, you are stronger than this. I have seen it. Everyone has seen it."

"Really, when?" Her voice flickered in frustration.

Severus thought back fifteen years ago. When she was much smaller, more scared, and certainly more alone.

"Perform Legilimens on me." He said gently.

"Why?"

"Mary, for once, I am insisting. For the sake of everything we have done. Do it." He felt like he was begging her. He was. In every simple and complicated way, he was begging for her to open her eyes and see what she was doing. She thought she was clever when she joined the Death Eaters for his sake, not to mention the children's sakes.

"But I have only done it a spare few times."

Severus thought for a moment. "Its like a trance, yet it is as kind as the memory allows." He paused again. "Please, Mary."

"Legilimens."

Warmth encircled around her. She felt safe for the first time in nearly two months.

_Let me take you._ His voice rang softly as she felt pulled in a certain direction. Memories, or at least, hints of them shown around her like paintings. Her gasping for breath that Christmas Eve long ago, him smiling as he smelt her hair as they fell asleep the same night.

Finally, she was stopped and a memory stood before her in the form of a black, shifting mist. The mist gradually cleared and she was gently led into it. The Malfoy Manor, in a puff of green fire, surrounded her.

She felt oddly relaxed as her eyes looked at the couch. The emotion quickly changed to concern and surprise when a loud wailing was heard echoing off the walls. She was automatically moving towards the source and found herself in her old bedroom. Her mother on the floor holding a child with badly cut, black hair and pale-white skin.

Then the memory shifted.

"_Stay!" The child's face seemed familiar. Her eyes were slightly misted as she looked up at Severus. _

_"Hush." He said soothingly. "You are safe now." He ignored Lucius's intake of breath and placed a warm hand on her cool cheek. "What is your name?"_

_She closed her eyes. He sighed and stepped back. Lucius somehow found the will to move his wife out of the room and he made to retreat but a small, innocent voice stopped him._

_"I don't remember."_

_He turned back and took her small, limp hand._

_"Will you let me read your mind?" He felt foolish to ask but thought it counted for everyone that he could ask. "Maybe I'll find your name."_

_She didn't open her eyes, at first, but with a small nod she opened then was looked at his right cheek. He found that strange but shook it off._

_"Legilimens." He muttered softly._

_Immediately, he felt as thought he was thrown into a cold lake. He felt smothered, and utterly trapped as he relived the girl's life. From her fifth birthday, over the past four years, she was constantly put into from of Lord Voldemort. Unclear babble was the only form of communication. He watched in growing horror as he watched his master transform from a young man into a strange walking snake. His eyes turning slowly red and menacing. He even saw himself staring at the girl, with wonder. But near the end of the memories, he began to make out words._

_"Don't… hurt…fright…Rid…" He recognized Dumbledore's voice._

_Then all to quickly, he was looking up at Voldemort. He smiled without any charm and pointed to the woman in front of him. The woman had no hair, just tufts of dirt and bruises. She looked tired and broken, but her hand was reaching out towards Severus, towards the girl. Her royal blue eyes weeping faintly._

_"Now, child, take my wand. That's a good girl and point it that way. Good." Severus, a trampling fear overtaking him, wanted to suddenly scream out. He tried to back out, but found he was trapped with in this girl's mind. He struggled but found that the trap was stronger than he was. "And say, Avada Kedavra." He whispered the last bit. He almost shouted with relief when he heard a wand drop to the floor and the girl take her mum's hand. The woman smiled wearily at her._

"_Avada Kedavra." _

_The woman screamed and fell limp. Mary stared at the memory as she looked at the woman. Her rich blue eyes slightly closed and her jaw limp. _

There was a gentle push and Mary was back to sitting on Severus's lap, tears streaming down her face.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Severus gave her a small, reassuring smile.

"It was the moment, I forgot about Lily, my promises, and what I have done, and found a small, innocent girl. Remember what I told you?"

"No." She tucked her face into his neck.

"A majesty of character. Too beautiful. Even too graceful for the likes of the world." He paused. "Mary, if you forget, just think of yourself at a young age, showing one of the Darkest Wizard's of our age the greatest resistance of the First war."

She straightened and looked at him.

Severus managed a weak smile. "Yes, Mary. You showed him resistance and, in my opinion, mule-like stubbornness."

She gave him a sad smile. He held her cheek in his palm.

"Show it to me, like you once did. Show it to him, like you haven't forgot. Show it to the world, like you don't care." He pointed at the blade. "And forget this as a means of escape. If I wished to, I could have ended my services a long time ago with that very object. But for you, I didn't. Be strong, Mary."

She whimpered as a new wave of sobs shook her. He drew her close and with a wave of his hand, Gook turned the knife into ashes.

**This chapter is one of the reasons the whole story is rated 'T'. So glad it ended on a relatively happy note. (Not really but better than what I was thinking.)**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**Disclaimer here**

**The last chapter was in certain need of happiness. Well… to be honest… I don't know if this story will end happy at all… just saying, **

Chapter Five

Hermione pulled the blanket closer around her. It was her only comfort on the cold forest floor. In her pocket, her wand warmed her stomach as if trying to comfort her. There was no comfort here. Ron was gone. She had no idea where he went or if he even regretted leaving her. Something in her chest purred angrily. She couldn't find a name for the emotion she felt towards Ron. 'Love' was too powerful yet 'crush' was too feeble.

A twig snapped and brought her out of her thoughts. She didn't dare to breathe and even pulled the blanket over her nose to hopefully hide the steam of her breath. Another twig snapped in the same general area and the sound made Hermione's heart pound. She slowly, silently stood up. Not that anyone beyond the shield could see her; she felt exposed and pulled her wand out. It hummed and warmed her hand hopefully as she raised it in the direction of the noises.

_I hope it's an animal. _She thought.

When she was sitting, she did not see a ball of light drifting above the bushes. Now that she was standing, she could see it clearly and was on the other side of the bush just across the clearing. It floated still for a moment as another twig snapped.

_This is no animal; it's human._ _Three sounds in the same direction, the next sound closer than the last. Oh, no… they found us!_ She was about to turn and run to the tent when something stopped her. Whether if it was fear or curiosity she couldn't tell; she was just frozen in place.

The bush shifted as a long arm, pale and thin pulled back the snow-covered branches and a woman stepped from behind the bush. Her other arm snaked around a tree and she used it to lean against, obviously exhausted. The ball of light circled above her as if allowing Hermione to see the woman's face.

She was dressed in dark Muggle winter clothing with a long black cloak wrapped about her shoulders. At her hip, Hermione could see a wand holster and the tip of a wand sticking out but the woman made no move to grab it. What she saw next was shocking. Around the woman's eyes, bloodied bandages marked where her eyes were. Even at a distance, she could see a blood smear on the woman's cheek. She took a step back, a twig snapped loudly, immediately drawing the woman's attention. Hermione winced.

_What are you? Are you friend or are you foe?_ A woman's voice echoed in Hermione's mind.

She didn't answer her.

_Forgive me. I am a friend of Mr. Potter. _At a distance, Hermione could not see despair on the woman's face but certainly heard it in the voice in her head. _The sign of the enemy mars my skin. It is cruel what I did to my family, but I will be truthful to you, I am not here to find you. I am here to warn you. _

Hermione couldn't help it. "Against wha-"

The woman raised a finger to her lips. _Hush! They may hear you. Enemies lurking in the forest, fiends of the trees, beasts that claim no masters other than that of pride and power. _The ball of light lowered slightly as if it was listening and was hiding. _Young one, soon, the fate of Harry will not be yours to decide. Each day you travel, a day closer to the end it will bring. _

Hermione could barely register and was about to say something when the woman waved her hands. The ball disappeared and the forest went near black. Beyond the barrier, something large was moving around it. It was clumsy and there was a loud boom as if it tripped. Hermione looked at the woman, she was still standing there, a shadow against the tree, almost invisible in the pale moonlight.

_What is it?_

_A troll. As I remember, you told the teachers of Hogwarts that you had tried to confront the troll that was set in by Professor Quirrell. _

_Who are you?_ Hermione wondered.

_My name has changed, my loyalties, however, have not. _

_You said the sign of the enemy marred your skin. What does that mean?_

_A Dark Mark, Miss Granger. _

Hermione had half the heart to run. She didn't know anyone who could have remembered her name or even had the slightest clue where she was. In the end, she did not believe this intruder and took another step back.

_Remember that I told you that I would tell you no lies. Forgive me, Miss Granger. I have made you afraid. _

There was a brief silence as the troll lumbered away. _Who are you? What is your name?_

_I have many names. To Harry, the Shadow. To Dumbledore, the Altuskind. To the Dark Lord, the Traitor. To you, maybe, the Liar?_ The woman gave a small laugh as the ball of light reappeared. Hermione felt immediately comforted with its return. The woman's face was smiling. It was cheerful and sweet. Hermione gave a small smile and lowered her wand.

_But do you have a name?_

_Mary. _

_How… what happened to your eyes?_

The woman gave a bitter laugh. _I was summoned. I was accused. I was permanently blinded. I was banished by the Ministry of Magic. Not even my husband could bend the mind of the Dark Lord. _

_So he is at the Ministry?_

_Not quite. But much has been happening because of his influence. The day the Minister came to give you the objects from Dumbledore's will, he was Imperioused. Though there is no point to prove it. No one, at the moment, would believe you. _

_How do I know if you aren't also Imperioused? _Hermione raised the wand.

_You don't. Miss Granger, trust is something I am careful with. And I have found, even at a young age, that I must be honest. The lie that the Dark Lord lives is on a shaking foundation that will very soon crumble. He has no power beyond what he was gifted. His words wove a tale of a new order, a world filled with learning and purebloods. His hate for muggle-borns was passed on to him and he soon found himself in a position to make his first, merciless kill for the new order. _

_Moaning Myrtle. _Hermione lowered the wand.

_Yes, Miss Granger. Do you think I would come here if I had no purpose? Do you think I would lie and make you reveal your place? Do you think I would even consider battling you just for the sake of power over you? No, I wouldn't. For the names that will soon mark the end of this, the Second War, I come to you. For the names lost with time, unwritten and lost to human memory, I come to warn you. For the names that were innocent of many crimes both heinous to the world and to themselves, I come to comfort you. And finally, for the sake of those yet to come into this world, I have sworn to help you. Do you think a loyal Death Eater could swear such a thing?_

Hermione could not respond. This woman, Mary, had just told her that she was a Death Eater but yet… _So you are a Death Eater?_

_Death Eater is a social standpoint where all the selfish bastards of the Wizarding world gather under an even more selfish idiot. I have joined their ranks. But with a different purpose. To protect everything I held dear._

_You were deceived. _

The woman stood in silence. _I was. _She said finally. _Dawn is coming. But before I go, I must ask you… have you found any Horcruxes?_

_Only Salazar's Locket. _

_Have you destroyed it?_

_No. We don't know how. _

_A sword. Untouched by Voldemort because of the hands which it was wielded will destroy the Locket. _There was a silence. _Miss Granger, you must be strong. For everyone who are dead, for everyone who will fall and everyone who is to come. You must be strong. Encourage your friends and hold them dear when they are weakening. That is the greatest defense. I must go. _

_Wait! Before you go… you knew about my first year. And you say that you are a friend of Harry's. But I cannot place you. _

_I am hesitant to reveal my name, more commonly known. However, it is not my true name. Promise you will believe and forgive me?_

_I promise. _

_It was Ballari Malfoy._ There was a thick silence before again, Mary spoke._ Go to the forest of Dean. There the sword will lay, waiting the hands protected by bravery and a true heart to hold it. I must go now. _

"Wait!"

But Mary was gone. With a small wave and a faint pop, she was gone. Hermione stood alone, very alone; her breath barely visible. It was Snape's old apprentice. She had disappeared right after the end of the school year. Now she had come back, married and with children? It didn't make any sense. She returned to her small nest of blankets and sat down. She leaned back against the cold trunk of the tree behind her and watched the forest. Her eyes were constantly drawn to where the woman stood and it was only an hour before she would get Harry up, in the early morning light, that she notices a large, burlap sack that was lumpy and obviously full of objects.

She looked back at the tent. Finding it still, she ventured out of the shield, and grabbed the bag. She returned to her nest quickly and opened the sake. It was crammed full of food and both warm and cold weather clothing. Even means of hygiene were provided. Hermione breathed with relief. Mary had certainly lived up to her promises.

…

Mary was careful not to alert the Carrows as she slipped past them as they stood guard over the door of the Great Hall. Though they did not have the sharpest of eyesight, their hearing was abnormally acute. She was almost invisible. For the sharp eyed, she was a dull shimmer. For the dull eyed, nothing but empty air. She hurried through the hallways, panic beginning to rise in her stomach, until she reached Minerva's classroom. She found the Professor talking to Sinistra as they graded papers together. She entered the classroom and set, accidentally the spells off.

The life-sized Wizard Chess Piece of a Queen swung her axe at an unknown intruder and it lodged into the doorway. Snape was only a few paces away when he heard the large clang of metal meeting stone and hurried over. Minerva and Aurora were standing, their eyes glancing at the floor then at him fearfully. He sneered, striding forward. He opened his mouth to say something when he tripped.

Mary felt her heart burst when he hit the floor. Ever since a few days ago, when she was found to be a traitor by Voldemort, every beat of her heart cried out of Severus. She stood quickly and pressed herself against the wall. Severus stood and pulled out his wand, furious. He didn't point it anyone other than the place were he was tripped. Minerva had turned into her Animagus form and was looking at the wall were she saw a dull glimmer. She padded over and smelt familiar robes. Snape had watched her and now was pointing his wand in the direction of the glimmer, just now seeing it.

"Reveal." He said simply. He stood stunned as the glimmer began to take on a familiar form. Minerva returned to her true form and held the swaying girl steady. Aurora took Mary's hand and led her to the closest desk. Severus, with a flick of his wand, pulled the axe from the door, closed it and barred it with spells. He turned back. Horror etched in every line of his face, he stepped up to her and began to undo the bandages around Mary's eyes. She stopped him.

"There is no point." She said softly, with a small grin.

"But-"

"Severus, I went a very long time with my sight. But you must remember I went an even longer time without it. Now, it is truly lost and I do not even care." She paused before pulling him close. "I sent them to the forest of Dean." She kissed his ear for good measure to be sure the other teachers did not think her whispering.

"Ballari…" Minerva breathed. "When were you back?"

"A long time ago, Professor. But that has little importance now. I am being hunted by the Dark Lord and I thought I would just simply say goodbye to you." She looked at her hands. Her heart crying to be held. She would not give in. "I have many things to do and barely enough time to get it all done." She stood. "May I disparate, Headmaster?"

Snape felt confused. When was she marked a traitor?

_When did he find you out?_

_Shortly after the knife was destroyed. It was a piece of a mirror that the Dark Lord watched me through. With its destruction, he luckily found me as a traitor and banished me. I obviously have some use to him yet. _

_I would not consider yourself lucky to be found._

Mary gave a ghost of a smile. _Lucky as in, not you. I know your purpose, and how it all ends. _

_Does it end with my death?_ Severus felt chilled to ask it. It was like looking into the future through the eyes of a stranger. He didn't trust it.

_Time has taught me that only it can reveal the secrets of the choices we make, Severus._ She paused. Severus gave a small wave of his wand. She smiled more brightly. _My love… until we meet… I will keep our children safe. You just stay alive._

_I promise, Mary. _He allowed himself to give a small moan of despair. _I love you, always. _

_And I you, always. _With a pop, she was gone. And with a door slam, he was hurrying to his office leaving two, very confused professors to figure out what just happened.

**A little happier chapter… though the ending has much to be desired. I read Mary's little speech out loud to myself and found that it was everything that Godric would be proud of. *Sigh. Anyway… I'll try and keep the chapters coming!**


	7. Chapter 6

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**Disclaimer here**

**Oh… crap… *Looks nervous…**

**Sorry for not updating sooner! School is starting and it's making it a bit harder to sit down and write. Not to mention that I have family coming in. Anyway… Please note that Lucius, Narcissa and Draco have no idea that Ballari/ Mary had children. **

Chapter Six

"Severus, what happened between you and Ballari?"

It was late night at the Malfoy Manor. After a very long meeting, all Severus wanted was to have Lucius question him. He was standing by the fireplace; everything from his energy to his heart spent and now he had to answer to someone else. He plastered his best ignorant look on his face and faced Lucius's confused and concerned expression.

"I would answer, but the Dark Lord forbids me to speak of the Traitor. I would not wish his wrath on you or I." He said as solidly as he could. Nagini had eaten another unfortunate soul and he was feeling rather… unsteady. "Now, please, let me return to Hogwarts. I am sure my deputies have many students awaiting my attention." He made a move to take a handful of Floo powder.

"Dammit, Snape! Stop lying to me!" Lucius roughly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the hearth and threw him onto the couch. "What happened? I don't fear death or insanity just tell me what happened to my little girl! Where was she for the last six years? Why didn't she contact us?"

Snape could see out of the corner of his eye Nagini's head peering around the corner, looking in. Snape stood and stepped around Lucius. He forced himself to make eye contact. His own heart aching for his wife's tender voice. He knew that the end to this war was coming, he forced himself to accept that the day that his wife came and saw him that day long ago, was most likely the last time she would see him alive.

"You may discuss with the Dark Lord, our King, our God, if he wishes me to explain to you his orders. But I will not defy him, I am too faithful to him and that last thing I need is to dig you a grave, Lucius Malfoy. But I can tell you this, she was missed." He took a handful as fast as casualty would allow and threw it in. "My Office."

He stepped into his office in an explosion of green fire to find that, indeed, the Carrows had been very busy. Ginny Weasley sat almost resolute before she saw him enter, then it seemed all her energy and courage drained out of her. Her eyes were black and swollen, her lip broken and bleeding and her clothes mussed up.

"My, my… what happened here?" He said with a forced sneer. Ginny's eyes narrowed for a fragment of a second then dropped to the ground.

"Caught running about after hours." Alecto said, returning her wand to her pocket. Her brother however, kept his wand trained on the Weasley.

"Where was she caught? That's quite aright, Amycus, you may put your wand away."

Reluctantly, the Dark Art's teacher returned his wand to his pocket.

"She was running about on the third floor."

"And what were you looking for?"

A flash of fear echoed in Ginny's eyes. "I was looking for my…" Her voice quivered and she tried to clear her throat.

"I highly doubt that you were looking for anything, Weasley." He sat in his chair and gave her an evil sneer. "Maybe a way to sneak fugitives into the school and you know very well the punishment for that. Your fellow Gryffindors have seen worse but I think a warning will do well for you. Besides you are not like your idiot brothers. Unfortunate that you look like them. From now till three days before the end of April, you will serve detention with me. Now go."

The Weasley was forced to her feet and escorted like a prisoner to the door. She spun around and knocked the Carrows to the ground.

"You are a fool, Snape! And a bloody coward!"

"Langlock!"

"Levicorpus!"

Wordless, but certainly not voiceless, Ginny Weasley hung upside down, waving her arms and thrashing as wildly as she could, from her ankles. The Carrows laughed and looked at Snape who was not the least bit amused. He stood and strobe up to her. Grabbing her head, he hissed into her ear,

"Never again, shall I be called a Coward. For many reasons, there are fools in the world. I am not one of them. But you, like the rest of this God-forsaken place, have made ranks upon legions of fools and cowards standing behind the image of a dead man and a running boy. Where is your hero, Weasley? He is running from his fate. If he would give himself up, I am sure that the Ministry would gladly give him a second chance to change sides." He stepped back. Ginny stared him wide-eyed; fear dancing in her eyes like fire. "This world will become reborn and only one shall see that it is. The Dark Lord has taken our Ministry and flipped it inside out and has begun purifying its rancid halls. There is no chance of stopping him, Weasley."

With a small wave of his hand, he set her right on her feet, but did not remove the Langlock hex. But her eyes said everything thing she wanted to say with a dignified air.

"_Harry will. He won't let us down. Even if you did."_

"Will you be increasing punishment, Headmaster? She did abuse you." Alecto grinned. However, it dropped from her face like a weight when he shook his head.

"No. Her punishment lies with me and I will be sure to make it miserable. You all may go."

Ginny, not needing another invitation turned on her heel and ran down the stairs and into the corridor. The Carrows watched Snape as he returned to his seat.

"Follow her. Make sure she gets back to her Common room." He turned attention to the papers littering his desk. When they hadn't moved, he looked back up, much annoyed. "Did I stutter? Shall I call on the Dark Lord and tell you have defied me?"

The Carrows' eyes widened as they dove out of the door, and for once, shut it without the means of magic.

Snape put his hands over his face and felt as though he had not slept in thousands of years.

"Severus?" Dumbledore's voice called to him like an annoying fly that would not leave him alone. But for once, he actually welcomed the sound and looked at the painting through breaks in his fingers. "I am surprised."

Snape folded his arms. "About what? The fact that I am quite sick of the Carrows and that I let a Gryffindor go because of it? Or the facts that I am remaining sane when my wife is running from the Ministry and Death Eaters alike while my children remain in an old house with no one but two house elves protecting them? Or, let's just say… to add on, that I have been spending sleepless nights watching a snake eat innocent people before me as they called my name over and over again until at last death suffocates them in her coils? And you are surprised? So am I." Snape kept his voice level but Dumbledore could see his anger rising along with his desperation.

"Severus-"

"No! I cannot sit here like someone I am not and watch as people suffer because of me! If the Dark Lord had not learned of his downfall from me, those people would not be dying in front of me like ants underneath trampling feet."

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Severus. They would have died sooner. The Dark Lord would have risen to power faster than possible or dreamt and they would have perished. Its no longer a war of numbers, it's a war on sacrifice and how far one is willing to go to give all."

"I wish I could say that I want out." Snape mumbled.

"Too late for that. You have much longer to go, Severus."

"How much longer? How much longer until the Dark Lord realizes the true spy? How much longer until he finds a crack in the dome of protection surrounding my children? How much longer until he finds my wife again and kills her as if she were nothing but a mouse slowly suffocating underneath the underbelly of the cat? How much longer can Potter run while his friends are hiding in the Room of Requirement, begging for his return? How much longer do we have? It's turned into a waiting game! I have seen the winter take all I held dear away and left no traces for me to follow when spring finally came. My wife is gone! For all I know, she may be…." He stopped. Like he couldn't six years ago, he could bring himself to say the word, 'Dead'.

He gave up all of his dignified façade and allowed the first tears in years to slip down his face. Dumbledore watched him through a blank expression for several moments.

"Severus, forgive me. But I cannot regret placing you in charge of many things. But hold on for some time longer and all will end."

"I am going to die, aren't I?" He gave a meek smile. "I am almost expecting it any day now."

"Like your wife had said, only time reveals the secrets of the choices we make."

"But that choice is not in my hands. And since when did you talk to her?"

Dumbledore gave a smile. "Very recently."

Severus's heart soared up so high, he stood in surprise. "When? Where?"

"At Grimmauld Place. She had cleared all the Death Eaters from it and placed very powerful spells that would even deter wizards. Headmaster Black had told me of a woman in grey that came in the night and basically killed all the Death Eaters within the household and set the place right again. Needless to say, she has seen better days."

"What did she say?"

"Not much, beyond a content slumber. Do not worry, Severus. She is quite safe."

Considering the last several months, Severus could have fainted with the news. He returned to the safety of his chair and put a hand over his pounding heart. Never with Lily had this feeling come over him, never with Lily had he been so worried. Never with her had he spent endless nights wishing he could hold her one last time. His heart pounded with fresh, reassured blood. But his joy did not last.

"Bad news, Dumbledore. Death Eaters have found a small weakness in the shield around Viking Hill Manor." Headmaster Black's voice echoed into the content silence like a knife.

Even Dumbledore seemed surprised. He walked from his painting to the frame next to Black's before he looked at Snape.

"Go to Grimmauld Place. I am sure that the Floo works. She would be smart enough to keep close tabs on the Floo patterns and keep a line open from your office. Go, Severus! Lives are at stake!"

**Cliffhanger! Sorry, I don't think I have placed one recently in this story. Again, real sorry for not updating sooner. (And that the chapter is a little shorter than usual. Plus I felt that Severus ought to have a chapter to himself.)**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**Disclaimer here**

**Um… The result of the Cliffhanger. **

Chapter Seven

Sev and his two sisters crowded underneath the bed in the master bedroom, clutching each other. Outside, the night was alight with bright, flying lights while shadows danced on the walls as they floated like black ghosts; their robes danced with each movement. Sev felt a cold chill begin to surround him as a deafening crack shook the house. He wished that Minks or Snap could defend them but they were looking after their small elf children up in the attic. He couldn't ask them to leave their young ones defenseless. It would have been cruel!

He heard distant windows break and shouting. He clutched his sisters tighter and they him. He couldn't close his eyes in the darkness of underneath the bed for just beyond the skirt, shadows began to move. The shouting came closer and closer until, he was quite sure, that it was just beyond the closed and locked door. Then an echoing shout, above all the rest, silenced the world.

That silence pounded in Sev's ears as the world beyond the bed remained silent. He gasped when the door handle, distant from the bed, rattled then clicked as if unlocking. Someone had entered the room. Sev and his sisters held their breath, not noticing that their necklace's reddened emerald was fading back into a deep green. Their eyes were trained on the approaching footsteps. Then the skirt was lifted up and they saw a pair of shining black shoes slid back, two knees and then a face. It was all they saw before silvery powder was thrown into their faces.

The old man groaned as he pulled the children out from underneath the bed. The powder had left a white residue on their faces as he lifted them, one by one onto the bed.

"Are they asleep?" The dark clothed wizard asked.

"Yes. Pour things looked as though they had been petrified." Andrew Devon replied. He brushed the residue from their faces.

The wizard strode up and looked down on their sleeping faces, looks of wonder and fascination gracing his weary face. He picked up the dark haired boy and one of the girls and made for the hearth. Andrew picked up the last girl and followed him.

….

Mary awoke to the sound of voices in the hall. She still felt weak, her body battling absolute fatigue since she had been waving small protection spells on all the Muggle-Borns across Britain. The last one had been a small girl who barely knew what magic was. The first one being Hermione Granger. With each passing day, she had been growing weaker and weaker as she put everything into those spells to keep them stronger. And yet for some reason, in the dead of night, she had awoken to the sound of voices, not an unknown thing in Grimmauld Place but it struck her as strange. Before she knew it, she was rolling, slowly from her bed and stepping carefully across the floor.

"No, she is sleeping. I cannot let you in." She knew that voice. It had come from a man she thought long dead who had found her in Muggle London, half-dead, abused and very much ready to die in the gutters. He had brought her here, on her request, not at all surprised that he knew about the Wizards that walked, talked and warred under his feet. And he had been with her ever since. He held her when her trances made her scream and bore her up from her depressions with stories of days long past. Now, he was not letting someone in; defending her from inevitable heartbreak for it did not take long for her to know who was wishing to see her.

"I don't care. I did not vomit on your floor, forgive me, Potter's floor, then fight off Dementors and Death Eaters from my children just to have you say I cannot see my wife." Severus' voice was low and dangerous. Mary felt her knees quiver.

"Its not my orders. Dumbledore-"

"Is dead. Now-"

"No! And for Heaven's sake, put your bloody wand away. I may be a squib but for the love of all that is above us, spare me the pain of beating you over the head with a book. May I remind you that I am at least twice your age and more treacherous than you with a bloody wand in your hand? Also, as her father, I refuse to let you in!"

Mary, finding herself by the door, opened it. Slowly, and with much effort, she looked out into the darkness that had suddenly fallen silent. Then, she was swooped up into familiar arms just as her knees gave out and her vision dimmed.

"Severus…"

"Hush. Save your strength." He whispered. He walked her back to the small bed and lit the fire in the hearth. Andrew stood in the doorway with a scowl on his face and a thick book in his hand. Severus placed the covers gently and lovingly around his wife and brushed her un-washed hair away from her dirty face.

He conjured a tub, steaming with warm water and scented gently, and pulled the covers away. Lifting very carefully, he held his wife, thin and sick, from her bed and laid her, nightgown and all, into the warm water. He looked at Andrew's stunned face and gave a small, sad smile.

"You may stay if you wish. But please note that I would never, not in thousands or even eons of years, would I hurt Mary." He undid his right cuff, keeping his left covering the mark of evil, and slowly began to undress his wife and clean her. He didn't notice that Andrew had decided to stand watch over his grandchildren and closed the door behind him. Severus marveled how sick Mary had become, she was always very thin, too thin, but she looked as though she had been starved. It seemed that each bone was visible beyond her skin, each rib, defined more than usual and her usual, gentle pallor was gone. As he gently worked, he noticed she tried to move.

"No, let me. Don't waste you energy." He reprimanded gently. After he had finished washing her entire body, he began to wash her hair.

It had grown some since their last meeting and as he slipped his fingers through it, he couldn't help but remember the Christmas Eve so long ago. He gently smirked as he remembered their nights after that. Her, coaxing him like a bowl of milk to a kitten, and he, like the kitten enjoying every bit until the very last drop. And as a pleasant and unexpected result, three children came from that euphoria that it seemed he had forgotten. All he wanted as he washed his wife's hair was to relive that union but thought, reluctantly, better of it. As he was conjuring a towel, and lifting her from bath water, she moaned.

"Hush. I am here." He said softly.

"Severus…"

He dried her as gently as speed could allow and dressed her in a clean, dry nightgown and laid her in her bed. He quickly dried himself and unconjured the tub and sat down beside her. She was beautiful. Not matter her health. Her black hair gleamed in the dim light from the fire as she kept moving.

"Severus…" She moaned again. He leaned in close and took a bony hand in his.

"I'm here, Mary."

"I am so sorry… I can't-" Her eyes flickered open as large tears began to roll from her eyes.

"Mary, why are you so ill? What did you do?" He wiped the tears away and held her cheek.

She looked guilty at first but a reassuring squeeze from him to her hand made her look up at him. "I gave the Muggle-Borns protection."

"Is that why you are so weak?"

She gave a weary nod. "I can't eat, I can't drink… it hurts too much." Her voice was thick. He took out his wand. "What are you going to do?"

He was able to keep the alarm from showing in his eyes but smiled as he conjured a bottle with a deep red liquid sloshing about in it. He lifted her into a almost sitting position, and tilted her head back. He uncorked the bottle and poured a small stream into her mouth. At first, she looked like she was going to be sick, but slowly and much to Severus' relief, a flush rose to her cheeks. She blinked, a little stronger, and smiled at him. He set down the bottle on the floor and smiled at her.

"What is that?" His heart soared when she asked.

"A stopper." He said simply.

She nodded. "Where are the children?"

"Here. The Death Eaters have-" He stopped. He lifted her right arm into the light, and after a moment's examination, his heart seemed to stop in mid-flight. "What did you do to your arm?"

A large, painful chunk where the Dark Mark had been had been roughly cut out and bandaged. How he had missed it when he was bathing her, he couldn't begin to comprehend. Mary frowned when she read his expression of horror.

"I didn't do it. Draco did."

"Draco?" He breathed.

She nodded grimly. "He knew that I would be followed by the Dark Lord's Death Eaters and found out our relationship shortly after I left. He volunteered to remove the Mark, but I had no idea how he would do it. When he had done it, he told me to force the power out and… well… it nearly killed him and I. But he promised that I would be safe here at Grimmauld and helped me kill the Death Eaters here before I began my search for Muggle-Borns. I had no idea how weak I was until Muggle gangs assaulted me. But by then, it was too late. I had just given up all hope of seeing you again when a Squib dressed as a Muggle heard me and brought me here. How long have I been asleep?"

"I don't know, Mary. As far as I know, weeks. Maybe two months."

She nodded thoughtfully as her eyes began to droop. He gently laid her back down and laid down beside her. He held her close as she drifted off to sleep. But before she did, he asked her a final question.

"Am I going to die, Mary?" His voice was level and gentle. Her head moved as she answered. For some reason, he felt oddly at peace with it. And he closed his eyes and slept for the first time in weeks. And as soon as dawn broke that morning in Mid-April, he left her for a final time to heal and, maybe, raise their children alone. It broke every last bit of his already broken heart and turned it to powder as he kissed his children's sleeping foreheads for the first and last time and hold his wife as she held her emotions back. He stepped into the green flame to face the horrors that awaited him back at Hogwarts.

…

Ginny was careful to watch as Headmaster Snape entered the Great Hall for the last few weeks. He seemed to have some renewed energy and yet, he looked more sick and tired than usual. The Carrows had been avoiding Gryffindor for some reason and since after dinner was her last night of Detention with him; she was more determined than ever to find out what was bothering him. She felt strange… he was a greasy git, rude, and ultimately sided with Slytherin no matter what and yet he seemed as if he had become mellow and almost distant. Even many of the teachers had noticed, even the Carrows, had noted on the Headmaster's strange behavior.

"Are you really going?" Seamus had sat down next to her, mottled with bruises and stiff.

"I have to. Last night." She reassured him. "Meet in the Room of Requirement later. I have stuff that we need to get done." She finished her plate quickly, barely keeping her mouth empty enough to have a proper conversation and the moment, the Headmaster stood, she stood and walked from the Great Hall.

She hurried up to his Office and waited. For the last few weeks, he had seemed very slow. She often beat him to his office and now as she waited, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. _Where are you, Harry? Are you safe? I am so worried. _ She thought. She heard footsteps and opened her eyes and straightened.

He was walking with purpose and opened his office with a wave of his hands. She scampered as fast as she could and sat at the desk he kept in the corner. She immediately pulled out her Dark Arts papers and began to write furiously as she listened to him move about the room, almost frantically. After what seemed like hours of writing, she looked to find him not at his desk, as usual, but rather up by the large telescope that she remembered from when Dumbledore had been Headmaster. She couldn't help but notice how distant and peaceful his eyes seemed. She stood slowly, abandoning her work and moved towards him, warily.

"Don't think I didn't see you, Miss Weasley. What do you need?" He didn't look at her at first, but he made eye contact with an emotion that made her shiver with confusion. Acceptance.

"I was…"

"What? Not done? Bored? Good. Go sit back down." He said solidly. She returned to her seat but didn't return to her work. He sounded too calm. It unnerved her. He had watched her and how his eyes glinted with a hint of annoyance.

"What is wrong, sir?" Even to her, her voice sounded stronger than she felt. "Forgive me for asking but I couldn't help notice changes. If I have offended you, I am not scared of the consequences. You can do your worst."

His eyes flicked up to Dumbledore's Portrait who smiled at him with a ghost of a nod. He walked down from the window and waved her over when he reached his desk. At first, she couldn't believe that he did not respond. She slowly stood up and walked over to the desk were he pulled out a box, made from a dark wood with a large M with an S intertwined on the top of the lid. He gave it a small look at it before handing it to her.

Ginny would later tell Harry that he seemed to have a whisper of a smile on his face when she opened the box and gaped at the contents. Letters and photos of children and a woman whom she recognized as his old Apprentice were not the only contents. Three birth Certificates and baby beanies were carefully folded and she felt as if she had wandered into a very strange world. Headmaster Snape was a murderer, a well-known Death Eater, the infamous dungeon bat, and Harry's enemy… was also a father and husband. She looked back up. He wasn't anywhere and a quick look revealed him to be by the window again. She closed the box lid and carried it up to him.

"Didn't expect that, did you?"

"No, sir."

"Everyone has their secrets. Just like I know that you and your friends are hiding in the Room of Requirement."

She gave a small gasp and almost dropped the box and its treasures. He took it from her with a frown.

"Do you honestly think that I wouldn't find out? But I am holding you accountable if any of this leaks out. Do not even dare telling your friends or else the Carrows will have a day in the Park ripping every last nail from your fingertips. Of course, I am not just talking about natural nails." He looked back out into the darkening world.

Ginny found her voice. "Why, sir? Why tell me this? Or show me? I thought you hated me?"

"I do. However, seeing as that more than one person wished me to show that I am not who everyone thinks, I more or less had to show someone. For the sake of memory."

They stood there in silence until the world had gone dark. Then he ordered her to take her things and return to where ever she needed to be and hold within her the deepest secret Snape ever had. She couldn't sleep that night and barely made it to class the next morning because of it.

**Why I had him reveal? For the sake of Memory. Its almost over… heaven knows what's going to happen. :'(**


	9. Chapter 8

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Insert Disclaimer crap here)**

**Ok…. I am not doing too well. I am struggling to get the story back on its feet so… PLOT TWIST!**

**Without further begging….**

Chapter Eight

A pair of shadows loomed in the long, pre-morning darkness in the Grimmauld Place. The squib was too deep asleep and most certainly too old to contend with the likes of these shadows. They snickered softly as they placed a hex and a few curses about him, as they brushed past. The Master sent them. He knew all… he knew best.

They scampered silently up the rickety stairs and began peering into rooms. They were not alone. Up, above their heads, a pair of twinkling blue eyes and a pair of scowling green eyes watched them from a picture frame. Ever since the siege of their home, they had been hidden away from the world. The blue eyed painting looked at the other and moved silently out of the frame.

"Spot smells children's feet." One of the shadows mumbled. The other nodded.

"Posey does too. But which room?"

They opened a few doors until a sound made them freeze. A door, one they had already opened, creaked open. A ghostly-faced child, sleepy and rather furious with all the noise, stepped out into the hallway. She was golden haired with stern blue eyes dressed in an old nightgown found in an old trunk. The shadows looked at each other then at the girl with big, evil grins. They quickly advanced down upon her and knocked her out with a swift punch. Then they did the same to the two other children who were asleep already.

Mary startled awake. In the darkness, the house was silent. Save for a distant thud. She stood carefully from her bed and ventured out into the hall. Feeling her way, she crept in total silence onto the ground floor.

"Mary?"

"Father?"

Andrew had woken up to the sound of fire but did not find any fire burning in the hearth. He saw Mary enter the room with one hand feeling the doorframe. Her confused face was marked with a little concern.

"Did you hear that?" Andrew whispered in the brilliant light of Mary's wand. She obviously didn't need it but he did.

"Yes." They stood in silence for a moment before Mary turned and hurried back up the stairs, casting a Patronus along the way. Andrew followed quickly.

Mary stopped outside the children's bedroom door and allowed her Pegasus Patronus to search the room. The Patronus looked at her with worried look. Andrew, who couldn't look in past Mary, studied her face. It was paling. It did not take him much longer after that to realize the children were missing.

…..

Narcissa had not slept at all. She tossed and turned all night long. She had been doing the same thing for a whole year. Ballari was missing, Severus was saying nothing to Lucius's questions and the Dark Lord was growing more impatient. It was painful to think of her children in danger or even dead. Beside her, Lucius rolled over to look at her.

"'Cissa, you must go to sleep, love."

She let out a despairing sigh. He sat up on one elbow and brushed her hair from her face. A small, weary smile gracing his thin lips. He had been in and out of the mansion for over a year, spending some of it in Azkaban. His bloodshot eyes added a crazed look to his unkempt hair and unshaven face. He had changed since the last war and the beginning of the current war. He was no longer the pompous, rich-tone voiced man she fell in love with. In some ways, he was much better. She smiled meekly back and touched his face. He was cold. Her eyes filled with concern.

"Where have you been?"

Before, he would have paled or puffed his chest but he did neither this time. Instead he deflated entirely.

"Today is the day, Narcissa." He whispered. "It's going to happen."

She almost didn't believe him. But a small tear down his face threw out all doubt. It was almost heart harrowing to listen to him. It felt as though the world was going to crash down around them and burn them alive. A knock at the door made Lucius sit up completely. Draco, uninvited, entered.

"What is it?" Narcissa rolled out of bed and strode towards him.

"I need to sneak to Hogwarts and speak with Snape." He said quietly.

"Why, Draco?" Narcissa patted his cheek gently.

He shook his head. "I can't say. I just need to talk to him." His grey eyes were filled with a strange concern and urgency. Narcissa was completely confused but nodded her head anyway.

"I think the cellar trap door hasn't been found yet. Try there."

"Already did. McNair is standing guard."

"The Wine Case?"

"Yes. Bellatrix."

"Ballari's Missing Hearth?" Lucius wondered aloud.

"No. The Dark Lord rests there." Draco rolled his eyes. He had to get the Snape before sunrise. That's what the Pegasus told him. To find Snape and tell him that something happened and to send a Patronus to Ballari.

Narcissa racked her brain for anymore secret passages. The only two that came to mind were the Garden Statue's moving hand and the Gnome Hole in the kitchen pantry. She finally sighed.

"The only over two I can think of is the Moving hand on the Statue and the pantry."

Draco didn't even muse over them, he turned on his heel and slipped silently down the hallway leaving both parents confused and worried.

He slipped past another snoring Death Eater and into the Kitchen. The room itself was monstrously large. It could maybe hold two full grown trolls comfortably laying down and the pantries where numerous. He went to the last one on the right hand side and opened it. As usual, it was empty. A gnome sat on the second shelf eating a bad apple. It stopped in mid bite to look at him. He knocked it out with a quick thump of a fist and threw it to the floor. He ducked down and looked within the bottom shelf.

Something moved and hissed at him. A snake lifted its head and stared at him angrily. He knelt, pressed his face against the floor and muttered,

"Forgive me, mighty Nagini. I never wished to wake you."

The snake's head nodded and nestled back. Draco stood, slowly and as respectably as he could act, and closed the door in silence. He exited the kitchen silently cursing at himself. She, of course, would hide in a dark, warm place with plenty of food idiotically wandering out. He took a breath and slipped out the kitchen door.

Casting an invisibility spell, he moved with silence in the shadows. He longed for his own wand, but his mother's was all he could slip away from her without her noticing. She was too busy worrying about Snape and Ballari to notice that her wand was missing. He pitied her. He pitied everyone, for the first time. He pitied Dumbledore for being killed, he pitied his family for being broken up, and he pitied everyone who died in front of him for the Dark Lord's amusement and Nagini's meal.

He made it to the shadow of the rose bushes surrounding the statue. It was a young woman holding a large bowl in the crook of her arm and holding a wand in the other; pointing towards the ground. He caught his breath and held it as a Death Eater slid past. When the Death eater was out of sight, Draco slowly lifted himself and looked around. No one in sight. He looked into the sky. No moon, no stars, no light. He was about to run up to the statue when a pair of voices stopped him. He stayed in place and listened.

"Posey thinks the one in green dress is pretty."

"Posey is wrong. The dark haired one like Master's enemy is much more pretty."

"Spot call Posey liar?"

He recognized the two voices. He crawled forward and peeked around the edge of the bush. He saw, in the darkness, two house elves and three shadows following them. As they got closer, he could faintly begin making out their faces. One had dark eyes and the other two had lighter colored eyes but he couldn't tell the color. They came closer and he could see the dark eyed was a boy and other two were girls. But he was drawn to the boy. He looked too familiar yet he knew he had never seen him in his life. He glanced at the statue and thought of what he had to do. Then it hit him. The entire reason Ballari went into hiding. What he saw on Christmas morning over six years ago was merely a play to make him not suspect. He knew what he had to do.

He waited until the elves got closer before standing. The elves, in surprise, stopped and looked at him with wide eyes. The children, in a deep trance, stopped walking but didn't look up at him.

"What are you doing?" He asked coldly. "Do you know the hour? Do you know I could have mistaken you and stolen your lives from your Master?" His eyes flicked to the boy and to a small bag around his neck. _Strange. _ He thought.

The elves looked fearful for a moment then Posey boldened. "Master sent us."

"What would master have need of three crying children? Maybe just for you to take care on top all else. Maybe for you to torture and kill for his amusement. Maybe-"

Spot put his hands over his floppy ears. "Enough!" He cried.

"Hush!" Draco hissed. He looked around. He was on high alert when he saw no one. _They know. Nagini told the Dark Lord. _He struggled to keep from panicking. He turned his attention back to the elves.

"What would Master's nephew ask us?" Posey asked quietly.

"Pull the statues hand and send the children down the tunnel that appears. Be quick!"

Posey looked uncertainly at the statue but hurried over to it and climbed up the stone gown. She tugged at the hand holding the bowl. Nothing. She inched to the other side and pulled at the other hand. The wrist bent and a low, gentle click was heard. The statue turned and faced the house before she stepped off her block. With a wave of her marble wand, the stone lifted and revealed a hole with the top of an old ladder. Spot snapped his fingers and the children turned automatically and marched to the ladder and the first one grabbed hold and began a decent into darkness. Draco looked at Spot.

"Go with them." He demanded.

Spot was about to say something with the statue moved. Draco looked at her then to where she was pointing with her wand. A Death Eater was roaming into view. In the direction he was taking, he would not immediately see Draco or what was going on. Spot nodded and flung himself down the hole. When the dark haired child had disappeared into the darkness, Draco conjured a small ball of light and flung it down. It passed all three children before ducking out of sight. Posey paced nervously. Then at the last moment, she threw herself at the ladder and into the darkness. The stone returned to place and the statue stepped up and turned away from the house before freezing. By that time, the Death Eater had noticed Draco and was advancing.

"What are you doing, Draco?" It was Rowle.

"Looking at the statue." He said calmly.

"Really?" Rowle did not sound convinced. "That's not what I saw." He grinned.

Draco smiled and remembered something Ballari had taught him whenever he wanted to play tricks on Dobby.

"Impra."

Rowle's eyes misted a moment then cleared.

"What are you doing, Draco?"

"Looking at the statue." He looked casually at it.

"She is very pretty." Rowle muttered. Draco's smile deepened.

**This is the first part of the plot twist. Mwahahaa!**


	10. Chapter 9

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Insert Disclaimer here)**

**Part two of the plot twist. Prepare to very... sad. Of course, in this story, there is a lot of sadness. But it's not over yet. **

Chapter Nine:

Alecto could not believe her find. Three children were found wandering the halls, their eyes wide and faces blank. They were entirely alone and wandless too. She marched them up to the Headmaster's office and was now waiting for Snape to open the door.

He had heard her pounding. Normally, she would have entered without invitation.

_Must have a surprise. _He thought as waved his wand from his spot by the fire. He listened to the door as it creaked opened and the shuffling of feet. Standing beside him, Gook turned back and see who it was.

"Mistress Alecto and company to see you, sir." Gook said casually. Too casually. That worried Snape for a brief moment. But he regained his composure and turned as casually as he could. He would almost regret it.

He made brief eye contact with a beaming Alecto before looking down at the three other people in front of her. They were wide-eyed, familiar and he was fuming. He could feel a deep, righteous anger boiling suddenly up and it took nearly everything not to kill Alecto. Her eyes narrowed nervously for a small moment. But it was too late, he lost it.

"What are you doing!? I told you to take care of things _within_ the school! I told you that you must not leave the castle without my and the Dark Lord's expressed permission! Where did you find them, Carrow!? Playing foolishly outside?!"

She paled but held her ground. "I haven't left the grounds once! I found them wandering the halls!"

"Don't raise your voice with me, Carrow!" He screamed. She reddened and put her hands on her great hips.

"Then why are you furious?" She asked churlishly.

He smiled darkly. "What if the Dark Lord found you with them? He'd think you've gone soft."

She paled even more than the first time then looked down at the back of their heads. Before she could say anything, he lifted a hand.

"I'll take care of them. Gook, open a window." He said, holding back vomit. "Go." He pointed at the door. Alecto, reluctantly, left the room and shut the door behind her.

Gook rushed back and took the hand of one of the girls. He led her into Snape's personal chambers while Snape carried the other two. When they had laid them onto the bed, Gook snapped his fingers. Color rushed to their cheeks quickly, they gasped and blinked their eyes. Sev was the first to recover and leapt up into his father's arms.

"Dad!" He cried.

"Hush! Not a word, Severus. You are all in grave danger. You must remain in silence." He bent down and looked into one of the girl's faces. He did not even have to know her, but her mis-matched eyes and green nightgown could only mean that this was the plant lover. "You understand, Gabby?"

She nodded. He looked at Symphony. She gave a polite nod. He set Sev onto the bed and straightened.

"You are safe here. But do not dare venture out. It's too dangerous. Now, get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." And he was gone. Nervously, all three children snuggled up on his bed and fell asleep. Except for Symphony. When she heard the other two breathing deeply, she rolled carefully away from them and leapt as silently as she could onto the floor.

She edged her way from the bed and threw a literal maze of books. If books were food, she could have drooled. There was a thud close to her. She looked back and found she had knocked a book over. She ducked into the shadows and waited, barely breathing. The man didn't return, nor did she hear anyone else. Yet she had a sinking feeling that she wasn't alone. After a quick glance around her, she scuttled across the floor until she came to a door. Only then did she look back. Her heart paralyzed. Standing over Sev and Gabby was a form draped in black clothes. Beyond him, floating in the air, were several others dressed the same way. The man looked out the window.

"There's only two!" He called in a harsh whisper.

"Take them anyway!" Was the reply.

Before Symphony could move, or make a sound, the man picked her little brother and sister up and flew out the window in a whirl of black smoke. For several minutes, all she could do was to look at the open window wide-eyed. Finally, she shakily rose and opened the door. Stepping out, she was greeted by warm firelight and silence.

To her right, a strict looking woman dressed in black stared at her in puzzlement and shock. To her left, the man paled and flicked his eyes to the woman then back at her. Then his expression turned foul. He advanced down on Symphony as a thrill of fear and uncertainly shot through her, holding her in place. His hand grabbed around her arm and lifted her up. There was a thud and her world went black.

…

Mary raced through the empty streets of Hogsmeade. She had left Andrew somewhere on the outskirts but didn't care. Even from the town, she could see a mass of black forming on the hill by the lake. But her senses were trained on an approaching figure.

"Mary!" Severus's voice called out to her. He landed on the street in front of the panting woman. Even though she could not see, she heard him and ran towards his direction.

He scooped her up. She sobbed against him. "The children are missing!"

"Hush… hush… We'll find them." He forced his voice to remain calm and steady. "I've already Symphony, love." He brushed her tears away. More came.

"But Gabby! And our son!" She sobbed. Severus felt a flash of blazing fury overwhelm him. He looked down to find Mary looking up at him. He kissed gently her forehead and drew her close against the morning cold.

"I'll show you the way to Hogwarts." He whispered. "But I can't return."

She nodded. "They think you a traitor, don't they?"

_If only they knew._ He thought quietly. She didn't reply.

….

Sev had given up on screaming up the long shaft and he was sitting down, holding his knees under his quivering chin. Gabby, however, could not find it in her heart to shut up.

"Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Where are you?" She screamed the words again and again until finally, much to Sev's almost delight, her voice gave out. But that didn't stop her. She kicked Sev.

"What did you do that for?" Sev snarled, voice raw.

"Call for Mom!" She whispered as loud as she could.

"Mom!" Sev bellowed up, not moving from his place. Gabby pulled at him. Reluctantly he stood. "Mom!"

There was a click and light billowed down, cracking the darkness into faint shadows at the children's feet. They heard an evil cackle above them. The ground left their feet quickly and soon they were looking at a smelly, black haired, black-eyed woman with rotting teeth and the man that captured them.

"You forgot the other brat, didn't you?" The woman cackled. Then she shrugged and grabbed Gabby. She pressed a knife against Gabby's throat. Gabby kicked as wildly as she could and tried screaming, but no sound came.

"You leave her alone, you hag! My Mom will be along any moment and kill you!" Sev struggled against the spell holding him in the air. The man grabbed him and threw him against the wall. For a moment, the world fuzzed out but he felt as though he were being lifted again.

"Any who is your mummy, hm? Must be a filthy hussy with pretty golden hair." The woman came into view; her long, slimy fingers running through Gabby's hair. She grabbed a bunch and pulled viciously. Gabby screamed in silence. "Oh… pretty little thing is a mute!" She pulled out her knife. "Maybe a little encouraging is needed."

"Somebody!" Sev screamed. The door slammed open and a pale man and a woman with bright pink hair rushed in. There were an exchange of spells and the man holding Sev fell to the ground and lay motionless while the woman holding Gabby pressed herself against the window.

"Hello, Tonks. Blood traitor." The woman sneered. Gabby was as white as snow and her wild eyes darted about the room. "And Remus Lupin. I heard that you got a nasty bite one time and that made you something rather helpful to the Dark Lord. Why not join?"

"Over my dead body." Lupin snarled and threw another spell. The window broke and an unsteady Bellatrix fell back with a scream. A black fog surrounded her and she floated in the air. Gabby, not caring anymore about who she was or what she was doing clasped onto her and turned a deep shade of green.

"Avada Kedavra!" The woman screamed. A ball of green hurtled towards Lupin and smashed into him. Tonks curled over her husband and threw the same spell back. Sev pressed himself against the wall, hiding himself from the Woman. Another ball of green smashed into her and she fell, limp with her eyes closed for the last time.

Sev listened to the woman's fading cackle for a moment before stepping away from the wall. He felt suddenly alone as he looked at the faces of the man and the woman. The one that was Lupin had long scars across his face and a peaceful expression, despite having died suddenly and horribly. The woman had no scars but her hair color faded into a mournful brown as he looked at her. He made a quick sign that Bryanna had taught him before running from the room, tears stinging his eyes.

…

Ginny was battling Bellatrix. And needless to say, she was going to die. Ginny was cornered and telling her heart to calm when her mother stepped in and screamed,

"Not my daughter, you bitch!"

Bellatrix sneered. "No… not her. But someone's daughter!" She held up a limp little girl. Ginny immediately recognized her.

Molly waved her wand and seemed to draw all the air out of Bellatrix's body. The lack of strength caused her to let go of the child and then she exploded. When the dust had settled from Bellatrix, Ginny hurried off the table and crouched over the child.

She was pale, too pale. Her cheeks tinged with green and her lips with blue. Her blue and green eyes were wide open, along with her mouth, which Ginny could see a bit of vomit gripping her tongue.

"Mum!" She called. Molly came immediately. She hesitated then lifted the little girl up into her trembling arms. For a moment, Molly couldn't move. Her heart had completely broken. Fred was gone, but this one… this one did not deserve the fear in her eyes. Molly, shakily, closed them.

"There's nothing I can do, Ginny." She finally said, voice thick.

Mary, like Molly, was frozen. Gabby, sweet and adventurous Gabby was gone. In the eyes of her Patronus, she saw the girl named Ginny look at her then stand and take her hand. She couldn't feel anything; she knelt automatically, pulled Gabby's limp form from Molly. She didn't begin crying right away. But in the eyes of the Patronus, she watched as the stone in her necklace, turned from a fiery red, into the deepest of emeralds into the darkest black. Gabriella Lune Snape…. Was dead. And with her, all happiness died within Mary and her Patronus faded away into thin air.

….

Hermione crouched against Ron and listened. Against her, the little black-headed boy tucked his head against her. Harry was peeking through the crack, listening as best he could.

"…. It resists me…."

"There is no wand more powerful, Olivander said so himself." Snape's voice sounded oddly calm yet full of emotion all the same. "Tonight when the boy comes, it will not fail you."

Voldemort was saying something. Hermione didn't hear. The boy had begun to whimper. Ron gave her a concerned look before pulling the boy away from Hermione and holding him against his chest. The spot where the boy was chilled and Hermione looked down to find that it was soaked.

Sev couldn't listen to anything anymore. The snake was laughing… then she went silent.

"_Kill." _

He heard his father scream. There was definite fear in his voice. Then it went silent. The small pouch around his neck warmed as he sobbed as silently as he could. The boy stroked his hair gently but that was not soothing.

"Sev…" He heard someone whisper. He looked up into Symphony's face. She was dirty, covered in specks of dark blood but there beside him. He reached up for her and for a moment, felt comforted. Then the dark haired boy moved the crate with a careful spell and crawled out, his friends in tow leaving the children in the tunnel. Time seemed to slow.

"A flask, anything!" Someone said. Sev turned to crawl out. He almost immediately wished he hadn't.

Lying on the floor, in his own blood, was Dad. His pale face tinted with blue and his eyes forming glowing tears that the boy was capturing into a small bottle. Sev ran to him and held his chest.

Weakly, Snape lifted a hand and placed it on the boy's back. Symphony hesitated for a moment at the mouth of the tunnel's entrance then joined Sev. Weasley looked confused.

"Who are they?" He whispered. Granger said nothing but wiped tears from her own eyes.

"Hush…" Snape gargled. His children looked up at him. Then he noticed something missing. "Where's Gabby?" He whispered.

Symphony's face contorted and a fresh wave of sobs echoed through the Shrieking Shack. Snape understood immediately.

"Where's Mum?" He whispered again. He wished that Potter would just leave them alone so he could spend the last moments of his life with those he loved so dearly.

The sobs got louder. He lifted his other hand and held Symphony's trembling body. His vision began to blur.

"Potter…" He gargled.

"Sir?"

"Look at me. Keep them safe. Ask Miss Weasley for my box." Snape's eyes closed slowly. Then he moved no more. Sev made a vow then, not to leave his father's body even when the redhead had pulled Symphony away. He stayed, latched to his father's chilling robes.


	11. Chapter 10

_**Under Obsidian Heavens**_

**(Insert Disclaimer here)**

**I think this chapter should have a hint of the Beauty and the Beast effect considering that the last two chapters have been utterly… depressing. Also… this chapter is a little off…. But no worries. With all fairy tales, comes a silver lining. I also hint on a very obvious fact. So… without further ado…, **

Chapter Ten:

"Potter is dead." Was the whisper that seemed to scream through the army of students and teachers.

"What's going to happen now?" Someone near Mary whispered. Gabby was lying back in the dining hall next to Remus and Tonks. Her small form almost strange and unnatural in death compared to life.

"We fight." Mary said emotionlessly. "And we will fall if need be." Beside her, someone grabbed her hand.

She closed her blind eyes and looked through the faces of those around her to see who it was. It was Draco. His whole person was speckled in either mud or blood, she couldn't tell. She grimaced and looked past all the heads and saw Lucius and Narcissa beckoning him. Reluctantly, Draco gave her hand a squeeze and walked to Voldemort.

Voldemort stood with a grin on his face as he embraced a disgusted Draco. He was finally released from the embrace and he joined his parents, unable to bring himself to look at Ballari's scarred eyes. He saw her crying over a little limp body. He blinked, daring himself to look at her, and looked up. She was gone. He blinked again. Still missing. He scanned the crowd of students and teachers. She was gone; nowhere to be found. Movement out the corner of his eye caught his attention as a trickle of laughter spurted up around him. He looked in time to see a corner of Ballari's black cloak disappear from view.

….

Sev must have been lying on Dad for at least an hour. The blood had stopped flowing and even had begun to cake into Dad's long hair. Tears completely spent and muscles sore, he sat up and shivered. The air around him was cold and unwelcoming. His hands, automatically, went for the pouch around his neck. Ever since he had snuck the stone from the bookshelf at Devon Mansion, it had become habit. He had noticed that whenever he neared one of the pictures, it warmed considerably. It was always hidden from view and ridicule from his sisters. Now, as he felt it, it was much warmer than the other times he's felt it.

"Severus!" He heard a woman's voice cry thickly. He turned to see his mother hurry over to him and Dad and pulled Dad's head onto her lap. Her pale hand stroked it gently as she cried, Symphony who had been reunited with Mom shortly after the three older kids had returned to the castle, knelt on the floor and held Dad's limp, bloodied hand.

Sev felt oddly alone again. Then he heard Symphony whisper to him,

"Gabby's gone. Mom says she was…"

Sev waved a sad hand. "No more, Syph. I don't care anymore." He rolled the smooth stone from out of the pouch and held it in his palm. It glowed gently with a pale blue light. It trembled slightly then out of nowhere, it popped and then there were two small, red stones resting in Sev's palm. Mary had looked up and was listening to Sev. Through her son's eyes, she watched as Sev bent forward and forced one of the stones into Severus's mouth. Because of the movement, the wounds began bleeding again and she place a cool hand on his chilled neck. Then she realized that the wounds refused to stop bleeding, they were flowing. She closed her eyes and began weeping again.

"Daddy?" Symphony's voice urged.

"Enough, Symphony. Sev, come on." Mary muttered bitterly as she stood. As she made towards the door, it swung open to the boy who everyone thought was dead standing with several other people. This included the woman who introduced herself as Molly.

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. There was Snape's old apprentice, and two children beginning to follow her. It didn't take long to piece together the relationship between Ballari and Snape. He looked past Ballari and saw a boy small boy on Snape's chest holding a large hand and staring intently into his face. Harry was shocked that the boy was an almost exact image of the Professor.

"Miss Malfoy…" He said gently.

Ballari waved a hand. "The war is over… It would be very wise of me to tell you my true identity." She paused with a sigh. "And my relations."

"Not now, dear. Come, a bit of warm tea and some sleep." Molly stepped around Harry and took Ballari under her arm. "Harry, be a dear and fetch the little ones. Poor dears." She whispered.

Harry looked back at Snape. The boy and the girl were huddled by him, their bodies tense and trembling. He walked up to them as silently as he could and looked down. He was stunned when he saw why they were trembling.

"Mom!"

"Miss Malfoy! Molly! Come quick!"

Harry's, Sev and Symphony's voices clashed together. Molly turned, but Mary had half a heart to turn and look. In her mind, a painful trance crashed around her. It took out everything, every sensation was diminished as she fell back and lay still against the ground.

"_You were not honest with me, Nicolas." She heard Dumbledore's voice saying. "There are more than one stone."_

_An old man, with long silvery strands of hair sticking from his chin and from under his cap and draping blue robes, nodded. "There is, Albus. However, there are keepers of the stones."_

_Dumbledore looked a slight bit skeptical but the expression vanished before Flamel could consider it an actual emotion. _

"_Who are the Keepers?"_

"_I know for a fact, that the Eternal Stone is with Silas Devon and that Resurrection Stone is safely locked away with you." Flamel offered a small smile to Albus. "I can always trust you."_

"_Thank you. What do these stones do? Namely the Eternal stone."_

_Flamel settled back in his chair as if he were preparing himself to read a story to a small child. "Three brothers wandered the world for the space of many years. They finally came to a river that was deemed as the River of Death. They built a magical bridge to cross it and were confronted by Death who granted them wishes three-"_

"_Nick, I know very well the Legend of the Hallows. Go more towards to where the Eternal Stone applies into everything."_

_Flamel thought blankly for a moment. "The Resurrection Stone, the Eternal Stone and the Sorcerer's Stone have one thing in common other than the deep red color."_

"_What's that?" Dumbledore folded his hands together and lifted a leg over the other. _

"_Their power over the dead. However, they have great effects if used incorrectly. The Resurrection Stone only calls back the dead for a short while. The Sorcerer's Stone only keeps the person alive and even restores health to the fullest. However, The Eternal Stone, is the most preferable out of all stones."_

_Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "How so?"_

_Flamel paused. "It not only calls to the Spirits of the Dead, but the dead can choose if they wish to return or not."_

Mary felt herself be lifted gently up.

_Go away. _Her heard her thoughts mutter.

"No." Came the reply, whispered hoarsely in her ear.

Mary had no control over herself. She gasped and latched onto the person holding her. For the first time, in many years, she thought of how her mother felt, watching her daughter put down the wand that killed many and hold her hand for the last time. She thought of Gabby. Hanging limply from the wrist, then being held in the arms of a stranger. She thought of Severus who fought almost alone against Voldemort and his own. Then she thought of Sev and Symphony growing up barely knowing their father and sister. She wept. The tears she thought she had spent a long while ago over them. She clasped harder onto the person, closing out everything, even the thoughts surrounding her, all sensation was lost to the loud, screaming sobs echoing across the hillside and off the lake.

….

Ginny stood with Professor Snape's Box in her hands. She had hidden it in one of the dorms during the battle and was standing stunned by Hermione and Ron. The little Girl named Gabriella was floating in the air, an untouchable wind tousling her hair. Around her, different colored balls of light turned around her. Two bounced away in Lupin and Tonks' direction and Ginny watched as their chests rose and fell. Then slowly, she was lowered back down into Miss Malfoy's arms.

Fred staggered to his feet and was immediately embraced by his family. Then Ginny noticed that Miss Malfoy knelt alone, holding a still limp Gabriella in her arms. She turned back and knelt beside her.

"Go celebrate, Miss Weasley. There's nothing more the stone can do."

"Where is Professor Snape?"

Mary couldn't breathe suddenly. But she forced through it. "They're taking him to Azkaban. Without Trial." She said quietly. Ginny stood and called to Harry.

"What is it, Ginny?" He walked over and knelt by Ballari.

"We've got to get Snape a trial and out of Azkaban."

Harry grimaced and carefully watched Ballari. "I'm not sure how to, Ginny."

"His memories." Ballari muttered, absently stroking Gabby's cheek. "But I doubt that they would help him. She curled over the little girl just as Medi-Witch from St. Mungos wandered over. Almost as if she were giving up the greatest treasure, Ballari allowed the witch to take the child from her. Harry watched Ginny grimace with determination.

She leaned into Harry in an embrace and whispered, more towards herself than at him, "We've got to do something."

"I know… but what? And who are these kids? What's Miss Malfoy doing here?"

Ginny pulled away from him and showed him the box. Pulling out pictures of the children playing, Ballari sitting on a window sill and let Harry read several of the letters. Then, he pulled out a envelope, that Ginny _knew_ was not in the box before. It was pale green with a black ribbon about it. On the front, it read,

"To my Mary and Children. Forgive me."

Harry flipped it over and unlatched a pair of snakes and opened the Envelope.

_Mary…._

_I am grieved. My heart no longer pounds for the sake of keeping me alive. It beats for the sake of keeping the Potter Boy and his trio alive. In the last hours of my existence, I've found that the only reason I even fell in love with you was that… well…. I was alone. _

Harry stopped reading and looked at Ginny. "He is an idiot." He looked at Ballari to find she was standing by the window. He couldn't help but feel an odd tickling sensation in his brain and scratched his head. He looked back down and continued.

_That Christmas Eve… everything fell into alignment, you so close, my reasoning so far… never had any action been so… perfect. Even I, a Potions Master, have found that even in the precise art of potion making, there are flaws. I have also found that within that perfection, a unbreakable vow, so soft we didn't even hear it, was formed. Mary… I broke that vow. You are alone, now. And I cry for you. So much to say… so little do words express how I feel. So… I think… after all these years… I'll sum up. This one last time. _

_I love you. Forever. _

_Don't lose faith that we will see each other again. I… have a confession. The moment… your Patronus named our children… I couldn't help but smile and think of you. Of course, it wasn't a difficult feat. For six years, every day, I always thought you would wander into my classroom, children in tow. But… it won't happen now. Tell them that I want them to be strong, and valiant. Not like Gryffindors but like warriors. Warriors of cleverness, speed and honor. I know you can do that. For me. _

_I love you, Mary. _

_Till we meet, _

_Severus_

"That little idiot." Ginny muttered under her breath. Harry, silent, returned the letter into the envelope and fell into deep thought. "Are you going to just stand there?" She snapped.

Harry looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Ministry. Now!" She growled. Harry marveled how much she imitated Snape and followed her.

They were almost to the remnants of the front gate when,

"Take me with you!" The black haired boy came running. The blond girl behind him. Harry and Ginny stopped and faced them.

Hermione, who had been sitting in the courtyard with Ron, stood and walked over to where two children stood with their hands on their hips and looking determined up at Harry and Ginny.

"No." For a moment, all six of them were confused. "No, Severus." They looked back to see the black robed Ballari Malfoy approaching them slowly.

"But Mom…"

"Enough! I've lost your sister, I've lost your father! I am no mood to trifle!" Ballari shouted. The boy took a wary glance at his sister. Ballari breathed deeply for several seconds before continuing. "I have no more tears to cry, Severus. I cannot stand to lose you or Symphony." She paused then knelt. "Come here."

The boy did not hesitate. He went straight into his mother's arms. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Hush." She whispered. "Miss Weasley, are you going to Azkaban?"

Ginny nodded, "Yes."

Ballari thought a moment. "Find your mother."

Ginny gave a knowing look at Harry and ran back up the stairs into the castle. Ballari pulled Sev away from her and beckoned Symphony over.

"You two must stay here with Molly." She paused then continued thickly. "Be kind to her and polite. You are very young but you are very mature." She embraced them for a long moment until Molly's hand touched her shoulder. "I'll return." She mumbled to Mrs. Weasley then strode away with the four young adults.

**I would hate to get a letter like that… anyway… Yes, Snape survived thanks to his son. Yet… wait a second… why didn't Gabby wake up?**

**That is to be revealed, lovelies. Its almost done. One more chapter ought to do it. **


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